NEW STERILISABLE VSTEAM BAG, OUR LATEST ADVANCE IN CONVENIENCE FOOD

At SP GROUP we are proud to be part of R&D and Innovation projects. Over the last two years we have participated in the GoldenFood project and we have made a huge leap forward in making food easier to consume for senior citizens. SP GROUP worked on this project in collaboration with the AINIA Technological Centre and a company specialising in integrated poultry production, Grupo SADA.

Using the VSteam Bag we launched in 2014 as a starting point, our R&D and Innovation department has developed better techniques to ensure that, in addition to being frozen at low temperatures, these bags can also withstand pasteurisation and sterilisation processes, and then be cooked in the microwave.

We meet all health and food safety standards, as the tests performed on the Sterilisable VSteam bag guarantee that the packaging withstands the pasteurisation and sterilisation of the product in industrial autoclaves with counter-pressure, without risk of breakage or losses (under controlled conditions).

This improvement has been made in response to an increasing demand by senior citizens for food products that can be easily and safely cooked directly in the microwave. Thanks to the VSteam bag, it was already possible to freeze products at very low temperatures and then cook them without the risk of splashing. However, with this innovation, the feasibility of the food-sterilisation process is also guaranteed, thereby avoiding germs and toxins and lengthening the shelf life of the product. The valve also means sterilised, pasteurised or frozen bags can be microwaved without prior perforation.

According to our Goldenfood project representative, María de Guía Blanco: “As well as providing innovative solutions, we have incorporated the convenience-food aspect into this product. ‘Convenience’ appears in third place in the European food innovation indicators: It is packaging that is easy to use, saves time and energy in both the manufacturing process and later cooking in the home, and generally facilitates the consumption of the product”.

In 2015, through the Feder Interconecta programme, the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), supported the GOLDENFOOD PROJECT, for the ‘Design and development of nutritionally balanced, attractive and easy-to-handle food products for the elderly’, led by Destilaciones Bordas Chinchurreta and with the participation of La Aurora, Grupo SADA and SP Group.  AINIA Technology Centre also participated in different areas of the project.