safe food Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Amerex Ingredientes

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Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

FOOD SAFETY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIGHT BACTERIAL THREAT?

28 October, 2019/by Nuria Lázaro

Welcome again to our blog as we say goodbye to summer! In today’s Blog, we will discuss one of the hottest issues in food industry at present-ensuring food safety against Listeria.

At Amerex, we are always on the lookout for important issues that concern major sectors of the food industry. Particularly, in recent months, various health problems caused by Listeria monocytogenes have surged, so let’s look into this in detail to find out more. For example, heat is not a deterrent to the growth of this bacteria, many products that are manufactured using various heat treatments, like fermented sausage (“chorizo”), cooked blood sausage (“morcilla”), roasted meat (“carne mechada”), or any other product strongly treated by heat, might still be affected by the growth of Listeria. There is a common tendency to rely these heat treatments followed by the refrigeration processes to eliminate the presence of these bacteria entirely but, ultimately, these act only as barriers. We believe that each barrier, though beneficial, works as an additional wall to prevent contamination. Therefore, the more barriers, the better the safety.

List of protective barriers: moisture and pH, packaging, chemical additives, atmosphere control. storage, HACCP systems and heat treatment

The need to protect meat products like the ones mentioned before against the harmful effects of Listeria is a serious issue that the food industry deals with currently. In case of the meat, there are two barriers: the heat treatment, which is the former barrier, followed by the refrigerated storage, which acts as the latter. Specifically related to the storage, we would like to cite this article from El Mundo: Listeria: Crece la amenaza de la bacteria que sobrevive en tu nevera (“Listeria: The threat of the bacteria that survives in your fridge grows”). This article describes the occurrence, development and consequences of the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in food and the measures to be taken for preventing its appearance and growth. However, heat treatment and refrigeration, combined with control of the product’s initial microbial load and hygiene, are sometimes taken into consideration while at other times, overlooked.

As companies in the meat sector, you may think that by controlling the above-mentioned barriers, you have already controlled the presence of Listeria, but sometimes, things are not that simple. In addition to all possible barriers, out of which heat treatment, refrigeration and hygiene are the most significant to consider when it comes to safety control, there exist further barriers like the preservative solutions provided by Amerex. One of our top sales, Fermitrat® Export, would act as an additional barrier by itself.

Image showing the effect of Fermitrat-Export, one of our preservatives, against Listeria sp. inoculated in foie. You can see how both dosages of Fermitrat control growth better, practically eliminating this bacteria at a dosage of 1.5 g/Kg of the preservative

Image showing the effect of Fermitrat-Export, one of our preservatives, against three strains of Listeria sp. inoculated into sliced turkey. At a dosage of 1.5 g/Kg of Fermitrat, a bacteriostatic effect is produced, preventing the growth of the bacteria which is three logarithmic units lower than the sample without the preservative

Among the barriers, we can find references in the legislation about microbiological criteria, which includes pH and aW criteria. Therefore, once these two parameters are met, there is no further requirement to ensure safety.

Extract from the legislation about microbiological criteria, which establishes that products with less or equal to 4.4 pH levels and less or equal to 0.92 water activity, or products with with less or equal to 5 pH levels and less or equal to 0.94 water activity, cannot support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes

You may think that by abiding to the legislative parameters and maintaining adequate supervision pf certain other parameters, you are free from danger against Listeria. However, if you aim to create higher quality, more desirable products, you could even lower the pH and aW requirements by adding a protector in your manufacturing process.

The choice is in your hands, we are available round the clock to clarify your doubts and uncertainties and to provide you the necessary assistance to meet your requirements.

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Phone number: +34 91 845 42 14

Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

WE PRESENT THE MIA: METHOD INNOVATION AMEREX

5 September, 2019/by Nuria Lázaro

Welcome one more day to our Amerex Blog! This post makes us feel very proud since it is the result of a constant and thorough work. We summarize all our thoughts provided for the personalized service we make for you. Today we present the Method Innovation Amerex, or MIA, as a performed map that looks upon the peculiarities and identities of each company. Let’s see what is it like!

For the past several years, Amerex has prioritized the R&D field to stay at the technological forefront and to grow more and more. An important event for us in 2019 was to furnish our pilot plant with exclusive equipment.

After a lot of research and thanks to our own experience during the process, we want to highlight the importance of optimizing everything. According to this, we have developed a mechanism for implementing the latest innovations in our formulas with the application on every one of the interested manufacturing plants. This is the new MIA.

What do we want to achieve with the implementation of the MIA? We want to achieve a 100% personalized and closer assistance, aimed at relating the concepts test and product launch as synonyms and maximising the chances of success throughout a close collaboration.

How are we achieving it? First, it is essential to define all the vocabulary in the proper way: Test, Assay and Sample. A conceptual route of them and their relationship would be the following, but maybe it would be interesting for you to know more about it.

Correlation between the concepts test, sample and assay, from the need for a product that involves testing with a plan and sample management, to the establishment of the product on the market after the validation process.

Which concepts do we consider essential for the correct development of the MIA?

Previous work → to establish, as we have said before, an objective and a plan before starting.
Sending samples → they are only sent after the study if meeting certain requirements.
Communication → the need for communication amongst different channels is summed up through a shared document between Amerex and the client.
Analysis of the results → Amerex will always be involved in the analysis of the results as a greater guarantee of making the test profitable and ensuring the same.

The implementation of the MIA means that with half the assays required in each test, less time is needed to validate a product and also 30% of the products are validated. Without this method, this means one out of ten times.

In this image you can see a comparison of an average validation of a product in the industry, compared to a validation using the Amerex Method

Moreover, the ultimate goal is to achieve commercial success in the market, a Top Sales. The previous work of guiding the test, together with a bigger flow of developments, boosts the chances of achieving this success by 40%.

So far, it is clear that we save time and ensure better results. However, what about the costs?

Let’s see an example simulating the costs of an average company from the food industry, where the average investment for tests, including labour costs, may be around 30,000 euros. If the number of trials is split in half, as noticed before, then the costs will be only 15,000 euros.

The fact that 30% of the products are validated and a 40% more chances for them to became a Top Sales, makes it plausible to increase the turnover in 15%, 350,000 euros in this case.

In addition, we have checked that the returns fall by 1%, which constitutes about 22,000 euros of savings. In an average Fermitrat®, about 20,000 euros are invested per year. It pays for itself, it is profitable.

We believe that this text may seem just like empty words, but there is so much more. We are at your disposal for checking out other examples or scenarios, providing specific information about the method itself or a personalized assistance for your particular case.

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Phone number: +34 91 845 42 14

Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

2019 MEETING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LLEIDA – Use of starters in the food industry

5 September, 2019/by Nuria Lázaro

Hello again and welcome to a new Blog post. For one more year, we have participated in a meeting to share our knowledge with the students of the Master in Innovation and Management in the Food Industry, taught at the University of Lleida. Here is the whole experience!

The conference was impeccable thanks to this centre where we always feel like home whenever they invite us to share our experience and our thoughts about today’s industry.

For many years Luciano and Alejandro, Amerex’s technical experts, dealt with some topics such as the application of starters in the meat industry, but this year the rest of the food industries were presented with a special emphasis.

Other industries in the food sector: dairy, fish, ready meals, sauces, vegans and vegetables and bakery

As we have already mentioned in other occasions, starter or ripening cultures are commonly used for a traditional purpose, which is to actively intervening in the creation of organoleptic properties of the final product during the manufacturing of fermented foods. This is performed through the production of acid and enzymes, as well as ensuring sanitary quality.

Particularly, preservative cultures increase shelf-life and safety of the final product, so they can last longer. Let’s see some examples!

Comparison of fresh loin with a chemical additive vs. Fermitrat Export, an Amerex's natural solution. The loin with the chemical additive has a considerably worse appearance due to gas formation, exudate, weak texture and yeast colonies

In the meat sector, we can see a comparison between two cooked loins, one of them injected with a common chemical additive while the other has been injected with one of our preservatives. The results of adding a preservative are remarkable and profitable, thanks to their capacity to control factors that negatively affect the final product, both microbiological and organoleptic.

Comparison between spanish omelettes with and without Fermitrat Export, an Amerex's natural solution. The omelette with the preservative has a better appearance

In the case of these two spanish omelettes subjected to high temperature conditions up to 33ºC, we can also see the difference between adding a preservative or not. Both organoleptic (gas generation, texture) and microbiological (analysis of total mesophilic and enterobacteria) results were worse in the spanish omelette without the preservative.

Comparison between fresh salmon with and without Fermitrat Export, an Amerex's natural solution. Salmon without the preservative has a completely discarded texture, and a greater liquid formation

Alternatively, in these salmon pieces, with and without preservative. Above all we can observe the liquid formation and texture. It can be stated then that the addition of a preservative clearly provides an advantage at least in an organoleptic level in this matrix.

What will be next? Our Pilot Plant is already preparing to carry out further trials in other applications. This year, the two top products in terms of preservatives that had not been tested so far are salmon and sauces for vegetable matrixes. Stay tuned, because we will continue reporting!

Image showing new applications of preservatives in different industries of the food sector, such as fish or ready meals

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Phone number: +34 91 845 42 14

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Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

AMEREX PARTICIPATION IN THE II LA RIOJA HEALTHY FOOD FORUM

10 April, 2019/by Nuria Lázaro

Last month, Amerex’s technical division had the honour of participating in the II Foro Healthy de Alimentación de La Rioja (II La Rioja Healthy Food Forum), invited by Centro Tecnológico CTIC-CITA, the perfect hosts who once again counted on us to disseminate and to share our knowledge.

This Forum exhibited the different challenges of the industry when facing a change in consumer trends towards healthier eating forecasts, based on innovation and product reformulation. Our technical experts Luciano Vivas and Alejandro Rodríguez made a presentation focused on clean label strategies adopted by the industry as technical solutions for these consumer demands. Do you want to know which thoughts they shared? Keep reading!

The presentation was based on several questions to be answered about possible solutions to carry out the clean label strategy, its influence on quality and its profitability.

Are there solutions? Yes. However, before facing them, a well-defined and balanced objective must be determined. It is difficult to define a tasty, healthy, unprocessed, appealing and free of E-numbers final product, even more with considerably enhanced shelf-life and safety. It is difficult and we have to be realistic.

Nevertheless, as we have said before, many solutions can be reached by establishing defined and balanced objectives. For example, if our objective is to eliminate sulphite, a slightly effective microbiologically preservative but a very good reducer speaking in terms of colour, we can use a clean label microbiological solution. This solution will certainly increase the shelf-life, however the colour will not be the one provided by sulphites. Besides, as we have stated before, Amerex is already working on solutions regarding colour. The following is a concrete example amongst many others:

Descriptive image about the different Amerex clean label blends as solutions to various industry challenges. These challenges are the following: color, gas and/or liquid formation, and growth of spoilage bacteria such as Lactobacilli/Gram +, Listeria, Enterobacteria, Anaerobes, and Moulds and yeasts.

Historically, we have applied our solutions almost exclusively to the meat industry. Nowadays, many other industries in the food sector demand this kind of strategy and we can assure that the formulas we provide are perfectly adaptable to them. These industries include dairy products, fish, beverages, ready meals, sandwiches, egg products, vegan products…

The second question to be answered is the following one, what impact does it have on quality? We can guarantee according to our expertise that microbiologically the quality is assured. As you have seen in the previous image, all the solutions are tested and verified in our pilot plant, evaluated through different tests such as the aforementioned Challenge Test.

To guarantee your quality, you must be surrounded by experts in other areas for synergetic relationships that promote the quality. This is the reason why we are delighted to collaborate with the host, CTIC-CITA, who helps us to develop thanks to its excellent facilities, its qualified staff and the ease of communication between us. Last but not least… Are they profitable? As we have mentioned before, with a well-defined objectives and a tested, well-designed product, a higher rate of validated products is achieved. This is the first criteria of profitability: good communication, trust and the establishment of objectives agreed by both parties. Higher profitability, with up to 20% more validations and better market performance is reached. We can state that only with 1% of final products not returned, you have already amortized the invested cost. Our solutions pay for themselves.

In this image you can see a comparison between a standard industry validation of a product, and a validation using the Amerex Method

Soon we will upload the full video of the day. Do not miss it!

Once again many thanks to our friends and we hope to see you all in future editions.

Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

THE GASTRO REVOLUTION

25 January, 2019/by Nuria Lázaro

Hello and welcome again to one more post from our Blog! Last week, we talked about the trends going strong in 2019, among which the world of plants was present. In this post we would like to provide a summary about the different consumers that exist nowadays.

In the past decade, new trends regarding food have appeared. These are based on a change in the consumers’ diet and sometimes they are linked to a change in their mentality too. How are these changes affecting the development of new trends and the industry-product-customer relationship? Let’s have a look at it!

In the first place, there are four types of consumers according to different diets and the food that is consumed in each of them:

Omnivorous: the traditional ones. They consume all kinds of meat, fish, dairy, eggs, vegetables, fruits, legumes…

Vegetarians: they consume vegetables and fruits. Some of them consume animal products such as eggs and dairy products (ovo-lacto vegetarian), but never meat or fish.

Vegans (or strict vegetarians): it is the fastest growing trend in the market with more and more followers each day, especially young people. They base their diet on vegetables, fruits, seeds and cereals, rejecting the consumption of animal origin products. In addition, they fight animal testing, (from food to perfumes, makeup, hygiene products, or textiles). They aim to respect and care for all animals, thus they condemn their exploitation and mistreatment.

Flexitarians: they stand on a vegetarian diet but occasionally allow themselves to consume meat and/or fish. Hence, more ‘flexible’ as their name suggests, flexitarians are fierce competitors for the kind of consumers above mentioned.

According to 2018 data, 92.2% of the Spanish population is omnivorous, while the remaining 7.8% (about 3.6 million people!) base their diet exclusively or almost exclusively on vegetable products. In addition, according to a study provided by The Green Revolution, in 2020, a vegetable products world market worth 5,000 million dollars will be reached. There is no doubt that this figure needs to be taken into consideration by the food industry.

Now back to the types of consumers we were analysing, other minority groups also include raw vegans (they only consume raw fruits and vegetables), pescetarians (they eat fruits, vegetables and seafood), or the so-called “fruitarians”, an extremely restrictive and almost ruled out vegan diet in which only fruits are consumed.

So, here we are dealing with a very interesting debate that does nothing but become more of a hot topic as the number of plant-based eaters increases.

On one hand, those who oppose these diets take the preservation of health as their main argument. They allege that the vitamin deficiency that some people experience because of these diets causes health issues. For instance, a vitamin B12 deficiency may lead to anaemia, as an iron deficiency can do.

In addition, when it comes to ingredients and additives, most of the new vegan products are highly industrially processed with a high proportion of ingredients whose quality may be questionable.

On the other hand, supporters of plant-based diets argue that many products containing sufficient amounts of proteins to compensate for the non-consumption of animal products can be found. However, the focus of their arguments on environmental sustainability is even more important.

Livestock activities on this planet are linked to negative environmental impacts such as deforestation, water and air pollution, global warming and loss of biodiversity, among other things. Besides, more than 70% of the land is used for growing food for cattle. This shows the need to change the way we feed in order to prevent the serious environmental impact that endangers our planet

In conclusion, it is clear that there are different opinions on the matter and that we must respect all of them. We must as well be very aware of all trends and possibilities to be able to adapt to changes. In Amerex, we are already searching for innovative food solutions and applications to cover all kinds of needs

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Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

WHAT IS IN STORE FOR US THIS 2019?

15 January, 2019/by Nuria Lázaro

Happy New Year to all of you and welcome back to another Blog post with so much news ahead! We have left behind 2018 that, no doubt, has brought us many advances in the food sector. However, the New Year promises to bring us very innovative trends and for every taste: let’s go discuss it!

This Blog post is based on the review of the Top Ten Trends of 2019 of the FoodIngredientsFirst website, which we attended virtually and the reason why we can make this small summary.

The key idea and first trend on which all the industry plans will be developed is Discovery: the Adventurous Consumer. Since food has become more and more entertaining, colourful and emotional and it influence on how we feel (not only physically but also mentally) the consumer has become more curious about it. Two out of three consumers in the US, UK and China love to discover new items, from flavours, ingredients or textures to new packaging or restaurants that offer an innovative dining experience. We are looking for something new and different that makes us experience emotions. Some examples could be the watermelon ham (totally surprising!) from the Ducks Eatery restaurant in New York, or something more “understandable”, chocolate with chili.

As a second trend we have The Plant Kingdom, which has already been settling for years but which will continue in a very big way next year. It is based on an increase in the natural clean labelling trend, which redefines each year and is becoming more frequent. It represents the idea of the plant-based diet, increasing the fruit & vegetable consumption in terms of health, but with very interesting products to develop and evolve to get better and reach the most traditional consumers. The industry wants to find a way to participate in a new and different manner to get in touch with all kinds of consumers. For example, a balance between real meat hamburgers and vegan-vegetable hamburgers: the Boeuf vegetable Burger by Carrefour (France), with 50% minced meat and 50% coral lentils and pumpkin seeds.

The third trend is based on Alternatives to All: alternatives to bread, meat (meat substitutes have grown by 11%), dairy products (growth of 17%)… in order to improve health or to establish a diet variety, novelty or sustainable. There has been a very fast increase in product launches with a vegan claim, up to 45% of growing between 2013 and 2017, with products like Vegan Ice Cream bar by Magnum. Also other categories like Green Giant’s pizza or pasta alternatives, drink alternatives like Tesco’s low-alcohol Gin Tonic, or protein alternatives like pea or even insect protein.

A fourth trend that is a little further away from food itself, but with great importance is sustainability, the Green Appeal. Sustainability is a goal for all of us and companies must invest and make commitments to sustainability in the short and long term. There are very creative ideas in this matter, such as fighting food waste by taking advantage of manufacturing processes. Even for us in our own houses with the Aquafaba, which make the most of the cooking liquid of beans and other legumes like chickpeas to use it as an alternative to egg whites. As well, creating alternatives to single-use plastics to make biodegradable packaging, such as edible straws or edible seaweed packaging.

The fifth and last trend that we are fully reviewing is Snacking: the Definitive Occasion. Oh, how much we love to snack between meals… We can divide consumers into three target groups:

Millennials that replace their meals for snacks because they are too busy
GenX that are cutting out their sweet snack consumption
Boomers that are making changes to become healthier

For all of them, the companies must focus on how they innovate on snacking occasions. For example, some of the most innovative products are the following: the classic Babybells but this time with crackers, or Pringles into pizza-flavoured sticks. Taking into consideration the participation of vegans, companies have also invested in snacks for them based on fruit, rice, mushrooms, or even roots.

Here we finish the review of the trends for the upcoming months. We hope it provides a general idea of what is to come and we will see if the predictions are fulfilled during this year.

More information about new products in this link.

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Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

BIENVENUE À SIAL PARIS 2018

28 December, 2018/by Nuria Lázaro

We ended our Blog this year with a post about SIAL Paris, one of the main food and agriculture trades in Europe, a three-day trip making the most of the time spent. Thanks to our stay in Paris, we can tell you the main news and our impressions and conclusions about the different sectors of the food market.

More than 7,200 exhibitors from 119 countries and 310,000 visitors from 194 different countries visited this trade. Within a very strong international presence (approximately 87% of the exhibitors and 73% of the visitors from an international origin), Spain was represented by 479 companies, being one of the main exhibiting countries together with France, China and Italy. 21 industry sectors were present, the most interesting included deli counter, dairy products and fresh meats, but others were very important such as BIO and gourmet products.

A room called Sial Innovation introduced us to 2,355 innovative products, where the most distinguished were awarded. Three of the award-winning innovations this year belonged to Spanish companies:

–         Sturgeon fillets in extra virgin olive oil from Castillo de Canena
Source: Sturgeon

–         Elayo’s Olive Seed Oil
Source: Olive Seed Oil

–         Choví’s Black Garlic Alioli
Source: Black Garlic Alioli Mini Mortar

From our point of view, SIAL 2018 showed us the common topics in recent times: internationalization and innovation. The huge presence of international exhibitors and visitors allowed companies to be known outside their borders, in addition to gaining loyalty from their closest customers. For us, it has strengthened our idea of expansion, since almost 100% of the interaction we had was with foreign companies.

Also innovation in efficiency, since population growth will be very pronounced 30 years from now (a population of 9.8 billion people is estimated for 2050). The challenge of feeding such a large number of people has been considered and that is why SIAL has bet on a new, healthier and highly sustainable diet that meet the expectations of consumers.

To summarize, the general and particular outcomes of the trade fair is very positive. The large number of people coming from many different countries, the different types of products that we were able to find, and above all, the innovation, enriched this experience and left us more than satisfied with the sector and with everything expected to come in the near future.

We wish you Happy Holidays and a wonderful beginning of the New Year.

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Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

ALIMENTARIA 2018

10 December, 2018/by Nuria Lázaro

100,000 m² of Barcelona’s Gran Vía de Fira, more than 4,500 exhibitors from 70 countries, 30% of them being international. Approximately 150,000 visitors, both national and international, 1,400 buyers and 300 innovations. This is the scenario of the 22^nd edition of Alimentaria 2018, in which the highlight topic is internationalization, one of the biggest challenges of the food sector.

In an optimistic atmosphere and while the industry innovations are being promoted, the priority is to encourage relationships between international buyers and exhibiting companies from countries such as Germany, Argentina, Ecuador, Belgium, Holland, China, Hong-Kong, France, Romania, Russia, Thailand and Turkey.

Within the whole Alimentaria’s exhibition offer we could find Intercarn, a meat products exhibitor which occupied a hall up to 15,000 m2 (11% more than in the previous edition). During the past 10 years, the Spanish meat industry has experienced significant growth, driven by the increase in the number of exports (currently exporting 40% of its production), and has doubled its sales abroad. Thanks to this growth, meat sector is now the fourth most important industrial sector in Spain, with more than 22,000 million euros of turnover (exceeding the 21% of the whole food sector). Together with Germany, we are the third world producer in the sector.

Besides internationalization, another important aspect to highlight is the prioritization of the healthiest products as a trend for 2019. In this aspect, the reduction of fat, salt and sugars as well as the vegan or ecological trend and the elimination of allergens such as gluten or lactose are taken into account. We expect to carry out an in-depth analysis of trends early next year, but we anticipate that consumers are very open to trying new and surprising things, daring to combine flavours and innovating in both products and types of packaging. Alimentaria dedicated an innovation space to several product launches that will not go unnoticed:

Ham and Chorizo Confetti by Martínez Somalo
Source: martinezsomalo.com/es/confeti/

Freeze-dried nougat - nougat and almond protein shake by Hijos de Manuel Picó — Freeze-dried nougat – nougat & almond protein shake by Hijos de Manuel Picó
Source: turronesmanuelpico.com/

Chickpeas Chips and Lentil Crusts with Turmeric by El Granero Integral
Source: elgranero.com/

Ready Meals for baking: Tapeo by Pescanova
Source: pescanova.es/

Nuria Lázaro is the R&D and Quality Manager for Amerex’s technical team. She holds a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology. She brings her experience in food preservation and safety, specializing in legislation and the development of new preservatives and antioxidants.

LOGBOOK I – AMEREX JOURNEY THROUGH THE MEDITERRANEAN

6 July, 2018/by Nuria Lázaro

One of the most satisfying things about our job is having the chance of visiting different places and leave the “city chains” behind; we consider it a breath of fresh air in the middle of our routines. For this reason, we would like to inaugurate this new section to speak about the life-lessons of Amerex’s trips.

We have finally returned to Levante! One of our favourite regions to explore. In this evolving world, internationalization and expansion processes within the different sectors make it highly difficult for us to prolong our stay in such enriching places. Unfortunately, we are running out of time…

Even though the days are few, it is always a pleasure to meet old friends. We say friends because so many years of relationships create small but strong bonds with the clients, which grow every day more than it may seem.

Being less sentimental (as the Queen song says, “didn’t mean to make you cry”), in this 2-day trip traveling more than 1,200 km we had the opportunity to visit many people, and some visits were very special. Beyond reporting about Amerex news, we were able to have a little chat with one particular client about industry topics that concern us all.

We both clearly agree to bet on quality, however it is an interesting debate that prevails in society that if you look for a quality sausage at the supermarket, you should be prepared to pay what its worth. As we have mentioned in previous blog posts, the consumer trend is to demand extreme quality of products but in a cheap way, which turns to be unfeasible.

Nevertheless, not only did we take part in this interesting thought. In addition, we were able to discuss about daily, personal issues outside the workplace. In this case, considering the physical injuries that could affect any of us, this valued client, despite the pain inflicted upon him, continues to work every day from the time of 5 am. He does not consider a treatment for the risk of losing working days worth it.

Such an example of perseverance, although we advised him to evaluate all the options since our true wish is for him to recover very soon. We stated this firmly, thanks to our close relationship, and just because of his gratitude and the feeling of being trusted, we are satisfied.

Within our humble capabilities, our purpose is always to offer our clients more than just products: trust and advice.

These trips are very rewarding, especially because we can see that the work done bears fruits and we can notice the satisfaction of the clients. Not to mention the opportunity to enjoy free time and forget the routine a bit.

See you in the next chapter…

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Phone number: +34 91 845 42 14