MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Harvested from 90 citrus farms in North West Province, from April to November, the fresh fruit delivered to our factory is weighed and tipped into bins.
Samples of each batch are tested for quality in our pre-grading laboratory and, if in line with our specifications, the fruit is approved for intake and processing.
Within 24 hours of arriving at our factory gate, the fresh produce is washed and processed. Any spoiled fruit is removed and discarded.
Extraction Processs
The juice is extracted into a processing system that separates the juice from the cells. The cells are pasteurised and stored at sub-zero temperatures. These products are sold to customers and also used in various recipes.
After it has been extracted from the fruit, the juice passes through an evaporation process, which heats it to 95°C to remove water and to pasteurize the product. The raw- material concentrate is then frozen to -18°C and stored in our freezer tank farm, which holds up to 1.3 million litres of concentrate.
Production Processs
We process approximately up to 500 tons of citrus fruit within 24 hours and about 50 000 tons of fruit every year. We add value to the raw-material concentrate by mixing it into formulated blended concentrate recipes inside the Secondary production factory, according to the product specifications.
The various formulated concentrate products are blended in large mixing tanks and pumped into holding tanks before passing along different filling lines where the products are bottled/drummed, filled, capped, labelled and packed.
Products packed in bulk and other smaller packs for the retail market are then moved to the dispatch area.
Dispatching & Shipping
From dispatch, the products are distributed to customers nationally and internationally. Our unique depot system of 16 outlets covers the whole of South Africa as well as neighbouring countries: Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho.
We also export our raw-material products globally.
While we proudly uphold the solid foundation we have established, our sights are also set on sustainable growth – our product development laboratory continues to develop new recipes in order to meet the changing needs of our customers.
Quality Control
We maintain rigorous quality control systems along our entire manufacturing process. To ensure that all our products meet the exact specifications of each recipe, and are also safe to use, samples are tested in our microbiology and chemical, quality control laboratories.
Our processes are governed by strict quality and safety controls at every step, and guided by the international FSSC 22000 and SGF standards for food safety management and authenticity. All final products are tested again before release to be dispatched.
Watch our manufacturing process video
In this section
