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New juice press creates economic diversity

The purchase of a mobile fruit press by Fields Forward this year is already paying dividends.
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BY LORNE ECKERSLEY

Advance Staff

The purchase of a mobile fruit press by Fields Forward this year is already paying dividends.

A local grower who had been selling his cull cherries for $20 a box said last week that he was pleased to be able to schedule some time on the press, and he was soon packing filled 1.5 litre pouches of pasteurized juice made from cherries picked just the day before.

“This is a tremendous addition to the Creston Valley,” he said. “Being able to make juice locally will allow producers at looking at even more ways of adding value to what they grow.”

Parked at Shukin Orchards last week, the newly hired team of operators kept busy, feeding bins of cherries into the washing, pitting and pressing system. A thick blend of pulpy juice emerged, and it was then pumped into cleansed plastic tanks to allow the pulp to float to the top. After a day of rest, the juice would be ready for the next stage—filtering, pasteurizing and packaging into stand-alone 1.5 litre bags or 3 litre bags that are then placed in boxes that can stand on countertops or in refrigerators.

Properly stored (not necessarily with refrigeration, they will last for at least a year.

The purchase, made at the suggestion of orchardist and value-added producer Dave Mutch, will allow the mobile unit to travel from Yahk to Yaqan Nukiy to Riondel to press juice for school lunch programs and community needs.

The single unit press can process, pasteurize and package 900 litres of apple, pear, carrot, beet, cherry or berry juice per hour, using up to one ton of fruit daily.

The targets set by the Food Venture Collaborative (under the Fields Forward umbrella) for the first year of operation are:

• 372,000 pounds of fruit pressed

• near 100,000 litres of juice produced

• $250,000 direct local economic investment

• More than 250,000 pounds of culls diverted from the landfill

• 6 new direct jobs created

• contribute to the region’s annual food need through schools and community groups

Reducing the waste stream was a major consideration when the press was acquired. Think about more than 20 tons of produce going to the landfill or becoming animal feed, versus making 62,000 litres of cherry juice. And the remaining mash will still produce 1,500 pounds a day of animal feed for local producers. As well, the bag-in-box packaging is 100 per cent recyclable. The bulk format reduces consumer waste and is eight times more efficient than comparable glass containers.