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MANUFACTURING PROCESS Amazon Mania’s mission is to produce the highest quality and best tasting açaí. So from harvest to completed product, we employ the highest possible processing standards and utilize a facility that was built pursuant to HACCP (Hard Analysis Critical Control Point) requirements. To properly tell our production story, we must start with an explanation of the process that brings açaí to our door. Only 5% of all the açai in Brazil is planted and grown on farms. Instead, most of the açai grows wild in the Amazon Rainforest, high in the branches of tall, thin palm trees. Açai grows in several different places in Brazil, including the Para, Rondonia, Acre and Amapa regions. Amazon Mania gets the majority of its açaí from the Para region, which has very damp soil and a heavy concentration of limestone. Açai from such flooded areas is the most natural form of açaí that can be found, and we believe that açaí in its natural form tastes the best.
The indigenous Amazonian
people harvest the açai. Amazon Mania works
with no less than 250 families of farmers. Each family owns their own boats
and they sail down the Amazon, Moju and
Tocanins rivers looking for trees at their
prime. It usually takes two people to conduct a harvest. One person climbs
the trees (which average nearly 100 feet tall and hold 4 branches of fruit)
to cut down the açaí. The trees have rough bark
that is hard to climb, so the farmers tie a piece of rope (called “peconha”)
to their feet to assist their climb. We train the farmers to cut the
branches in a way that will not hurt the trees and to slide down the trunks
with the heavy branches in their arms because the fruit is too delicate to
be simply thrown onto the ground. The second farmer stays in the boat to
take the fruit off the cut branch and to put it into baskets. After all
their baskets are filled, the farmers sail to the nearest port (one such
port was donated by Amazon Mania), and place the baskets on trucks that
drive to the nearest Amazon Mania production facility.
Açai oxidizes after 24 hours of being harvested, so Amazon Mania’s
proximity to the port contributes to the high quality of our
açaí. In fact, our açaí
is processed within 6 - 8 hours of its harvest. When the açaí arrives at Amazon Mania’s facility, and before it touches even the first processing belt, the whole, unopened berry moves through three separate washing tanks (to guarantee that proper sterilization takes place, a small amount of chlorine is used in the washing process). To ensure cleanliness and purity of product, all of our employees wear appropriate hats, gloves, boots and clothing while at work, and our manufacturing floor is continuously flooded with water. After being washed, the fruit is transferred to a conveyer belt, which moves the berries through a machine that removes and discards the top of the fruit, which is where bacteria is typically deposited in the wild. Next, the fruit is separated from its seed, which represents 90% of the total weight, to create the açaí pulp. The açaí pulp is then moved to a holding tank where it is mixed with water. [In some cases, other ingredients, such as guaraná, are also mixed with the açaí depending on the intended final product.] The amount of water mixed with the açaí determines the grade of açaí that will be produced. When less water is mixed with the açaí pulp, a purer and more expensive form of açaí results. There are three grades of açaí – popular, medio and especial. These grades were established by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (the “BMA”), and are calculated based on the percentage of solids (açaí) mixed with water. Again, the higher the solids content, the higher the grade of açaí. The BMA requires that “popular” contain between 8% - 11% solids, “medio” or medium contain between 11.1% - 14% solids, and “especial,” the purest form, between 14.1% - 16% solids. After being mixed with water, the açaí is fed by packaging machines into storage bags. Workers place the bags on trays that are put in a refrigerated tunnel for approximately twelve hours (the temperature in the tunnel is – 4 degrees Fahrenheit). After freezing, 40 1kg bars are placed into bags, which are sewn shut. For our product AçaíTwist™, four 250g packages are put into zip lock bags then sealed with heat. All of our products are kept frozen at all times until the final consumer is ready to eat or drink them. |
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