Zamorano’s fruit and vegetable plant is the first step of Learning by Doing with regard to food processing. Here second year students start to transform vegetable raw materials into jellies, marmalades, pickled vegetables and sauces. They then do the respective quality analysis, taste tests and packaging.
The students handle three product lines: sweets like jellies, salty foods like pickled vegetables and dry products like coffee. The plant has all the means necessary to provide added value, including washing cylinders, a pulping mill, packaging machines, kettles, ovens and industrial freezers.
The fruit and vegetable plant also offers a wide variety of education in the technified food processing area. The student learns to work under different concepts of adequate sanitary measures, using Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMC) to provide quality food that complies with the health and safety regulations demanded in the market.
Innovation
The development of natural food products (without chemical additives) and the improvement of quality and safety are the subjects of research conducted by fourth year students in the Food Agroindustry career. Normally industrially produced vinegars have high quantities of acetic acid, which has the risk of producing cancerous cells. As an alternative the plant recently produced natural vinegar made from citric fruit juices.
The plant is constantly working on product diversification. Currently new products like passion fruit and strawberry marmalade were launched on the market. Also there has been analysis of the feasibility of producing marmalade from mangosteen, a fruit with antioxidant properties. Other products in a trial stage include wines made from hibiscus or blackberry.
Outreach
The plant trains micro and small business groups from the Central American region on issues like industrial processing of agricultural raw materials, management of industrial waste and quality and safety norms.
Profits
The plant’s profits are allocated to the students’ scholarship fund.
