Committed to producing high quality, enzyme active ingredients
Dynamic
Nutraceuticals is committed to producing shelf-stable sprout
products that are as close to the original raw ingredient as
possible. Our products are processed and dried without heat to
maintain the activity of the plant's enzymes - they are live foods
with all the benefits that implies.
We began a research program in the early 90's to develop a method of
growing sprouts that would result in much lower levels of bacteria
in the product than was available from fresh sprouts sold at the
time. Our goal was to develop a product clean enough to be dried
without the normal high temperature treatment used to kill bacteria
in other dried sprout products. Because high temperatures are not
needed to control bacteria growth, our process can be kept cold
enough so that enzymes are not denatured during the drying process -
most of these enzymes are still in an active state and are still
capable of catalyzing cellular reactions after being reconstituted.
This research program was successful and ahead of its time. It
wasn't until five years after we implemented our program that the
FDA began requiring all sprout growers to apply harsh chemical
treatments to fresh sprouts in order to control bacteria growth.
Unlike the single step treatment the FDA recommended for sprouts,
the process we developed requires several more steps but doesn't
require the harsh chemical treatments used in the standard process.
This more gentle treatment also helps to keep sprout enzymes active
and helps assure that your customers are getting a true live food.
We have built on these early successes with a program of constant
improvement. Every year we have managed to make process and
equipment changes to enhance our ability to produce live foods that
are unique in our industry. Some of the unique abilities of our
plant and process are as follows:
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Our unique
pasteurization process is not only more gentle on the
product than the process used by commercial sprout growers, it
is also less costly and less damaging to the finished product.
In addition, we use a final neutralizing step that eliminates
any residual of the wash process in the final product and keeps
off-tastes from developing during storage.
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All products are
freeze-dried, not air dried and no high temperature steps
are used that might degrade enzyme activity. The advantages of
freeze-drying over any drying process that uses higher
temperatures is well known (see Freeze
Drying vs. Other Drying Methods). In addition to that
advantage, we have modified our dryer to use a much colder ice
condensing process to further protect the product. We have the
only freeze dryer in the world using a two stage, ozone
friendly, refrigeration process that allows drying to be
accomplished at temperatures well below those used by commercial
freeze-dryers.
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Unlike the normal
freeze-drying process used by commercial food processors in
which the freezing and drying processes are done in the same
equipment, we have split our process so that the two steps are
done separately with equipment specifically designed for each
step. By using a separate freezing step, we are able to freeze
much faster than normal. This stops the damage to cells that is
caused by slow growing ice crystals, which can puncture cell
walls and allow cell contents to leak and mix with extra
cellular plant components. Fast freezing only allows small
rounded crystals to form so that cells aren't damaged - and cell
components like enzymes and other proteins are kept intact
within undamaged cells until drying is complete.
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Unlike most sprout
producers, Dynamic Nutraceuticals is able to perform all
processing steps in the same facility. Growing and drying of
sprouts as well as post-processing steps such as size reduction
and screening are all done in-house. This eliminates transit
time between process steps because we don't have to ship
unfinished product to third-party vendors. By doing it all
ourselves, we are able to react more quickly to quality
problems; minimizing costs and assuring that only the best
product is delivered to our customers.
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If your customers
are looking for live products with active enzymes, sprouts
really are a better ingredient (see
Sprouts as an Ingredient). But not all sprouts are created
equal - air dried sprout processes that use harsh chemical
treatments and high temperatures to control bacteria aren't
eliminating just bacteria. They also denature enzymes and
degrade other active molecules at the same time.
Producing live
shelf-stable sprout products is not easy - it requires attention to
detail and a willingness to go the extra mile. Dynamic Nutraceuticals is dedicated to producing the best sprout product
available on the market; we don't cut corners to reduce costs or
increase production. We think your customers will agree with us -
nobody makes a more active sprout product. |