Food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak has entered into a collaborative partnership with food research, application and ingredient company Synercore Food Holdings.

During the journey from farm to factory to fork, the food supply chain can encounter any number of health hazards.

Tetra Pak’s partnership with Synercore it aimed at leveraging their combined technology and food solutions to accelerate innovation in health and safety regarding the commercialisation of shelf-stable food products in Africa.

The partnership involves the procurement by Synercore of a pilot scale Tetra ReCart testing facility plant for dairy innovation to be housed at the Synercore Innovation Campus at Klapmuts, in the Western Cape.

“The pilot unit affords Synercore the opportunity to test on a pilot scale various formulations, recipes, raw materials and functional ingredients with the expert assistance of teams from both companies,” Tetra Pak MD Stefan Fageräng says.

The investment includes a Tetra Pak high-shear mixer unit, a Tetra ReCart packaging line and retort to produce shelf-stable pilot-scale samples that exactly mimic industrialised and commercial products, in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Analytical tests will be conducted to ensure the integrity of macro- and micro-nutrients, as well as the microbial quality and safety of the products being produced.

“The partnership reflects today’s need for a more integrated approach to delivering good-quality products in Africa [that are better] than either Tetra Pak or Synercore could deliver alone.

“This embraces the need to include in the product cross-disciplinary development process factors such as functional ingredients, processing and packaging solutions,” Tetra Pak points out.

“Our new partnership with Synercore has the objective of integrating and managing the entire value chain and to deliver an end-to-end solution to the African market. Synercore assists with product formulations, new product development and functional ingredients, which complements Tetra Pak’s specialisation in processing, packaging, automation and technical services.

“Together, we will help customers to produce safer, quality products with more efficiency and reliability. Tetra Pak's extensive knowledge within different product categories will ensure a one-stop shop for food processing and packaging needs,” says Fageräng.