Pictured Above: The Napasol system at work in the Marquis Macadamia plant in South Africa.
Since Marquis started the pasteurisation process in 2015, the company has processed, tested, and approved more than 30 000 tons of kernel across its global operations.
Over this time, not a single case of salmonella in finished product has been found.
This is significant, as salmonella is a known contaminant in macadamias and tree nuts and can be difficult to kill on low water activity and high oil content foods, such as macadamias.
Able to achieve a 5-log reduction of microorganisms such as salmonella, E. coli, and other
micro-organisms, the Napasol system uses only heat and steam to treat the kernel under precise pressure conditions, eliminating any impact on the taste, texture, appearance, or shelf life of the nut.
Steve Lee, Chief Operating Officer at Marquis Macadamias, said the company’s food safety quality assurance exceeded United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements.
“Our investment in Napasol pasteurisation gives customers the assurance of a third-party validated process that repeatedly delivers an effective kill step for salmonella, with a greater-than 10-fold improvement on the FDA recommendations for tree nuts,” he said.
“Napasol uses a unique and extremely efficient method to kill bacteria under precisely controlled conditions and importantly, the treatment doesn’t have an impact on product quality. The effectiveness of this system has been validated across macadamia whole, half and chip kernel styles, which may not be the case for other machines.
“The technology ensures that our customers and consumers continue to receive premium quality products safe for consumption.”
With two Napasol machines operational in Marquis Macadamias’ South African facilities, Marquis Macadamias SA Director Roelof van Rooyen said the technology assisted the company in consistently producing the highest quality macadamia products.
“We aim to produce the highest quality product, meeting and exceeding all food safety requirements,” he said.
“The best practice Napasol machines were commissioned in our South African facilities in 2021 and 2022 and are critical to guaranteeing the safest finished product for our customers.”
Marquis Group Chief Executive Officer Larry McHugh said the group offered farm-to-plate traceability.
“Controlling the process from the grower all the way to the customer is crucial to the macadamia’s clean, green, and premium status,” he said.
“This is further underpinned by Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and British Retail Consortium (BRC) based food safety systems, and a commitment to continuous improvement, research, and innovation. All four of the group’s facilities are FDA-registered.
“Food safety is paramount, and it is critical for our facilities to maintain the leading food safety processes, ensuring we are transparent and meet changing consumer expectations.
“Our facilities are maintained for single-commodity processing, which means no allergens such as gluten, dairy, or other nuts, are allowed through our facilities, providing further assurance to our customers that the product is safe.
“Our investment in best practice is also driven by improving efficiency while keeping ahead of increasingly stringent food safety requirements around the world.
“As leaders in the industry, we hope to drive continuous improvement among our competitors for the benefit of consumers.
“We remain dedicated to researching new opportunities to apply innovative technology within our facilities.”
