About VOG Products
About VOG Products
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Markets & Solutions
Product Portfolio
Product Portfolio
Sustainability
Sustainability
How premium apple juice is produced
If you ask doctors about the ideal thirst quencher for athletes, you very often get the same answer: Apple juice spritz, i.e. apple juice mixed with mineral water. There is a good reason for that: While the water supplies the body with minerals, the fruit and glucose of the apple juice provides the necessary energy and also provide potassium, vitamins and refreshing fruit acids.
However: Apple juice is not just apple juice
High-quality premium apple juice, as produced by VOG Products, goes through a very strict processing procedure in which every step is studied and monitored from the receipt of the raw material to storage. The high-tech and at the same time careful processing procedure as well as a variety-specific tank storage ensure a product that is as healthy as it is unique in taste.
A new feature in apple juice production at VOG Products is a dry receiving line that went into operation in spring 2021. This provides a further leap in quality, as it allows the raw material to be transported extremely carefully. The apples - which must be free of rot on delivery, with only minor blemishes - no longer float in water for processing in the silos, but roll and travel on conveyor belts through the various checkpoints, overcoming differences in height along a zigzag course. This results in a major advantage over previous methods: As a "passenger", the apple neither gets dents nor other damage. This means that the raw material for the juice has a higher initial quality because it is completely “injury-free”, and therefore also goes into the processing in a healthier way.
The individual steps
Juice production takes place in several steps: The fruits are washed under high pressure to remove any possible germs, then ground and pressed. In the separator, coarse particles are sieved out before the juice is briefly heated in the pasteuriser which gently removes any harmful micro-organisms. Part of the juice is filled into containers for direct transport to the customers. Another part goes into the sterile storage tanks mentioned earlier. Some can hold up to one million litres of apple juice, making VOG Products one of Europe's leading fruit processing companies in terms of storage capacity.
Because the tank storage capacity has been continuously increased in recent years, different varieties of apples can also be stored in different quantities at different times. Which means: VOG Products can produce independently of the season and also on a variety-specific basis. That is an important factor in the cooperation with the globally active beverage and food producers who, on the one hand, value continuity in supply and, on the other hand, get different flavours from one and the same supplier and can thus mix individual creations.
Our conclusion: Apple juice is not just apple juice, neither in taste nor in quality.
Apples, long considered a healthy fruit, hold a secret: they contain precious compounds called polyphenols, known for their antioxidant properties. But what happens to these compounds when apples are cooked? And what is the best cooking method to preserve the benefits of apples?
VOG Products is offering the food and drink industry fermented bases for producing cider and apple cider vinegar - high-quality and individually tailored to customers’ needs.
VOG Products recently added a very special product to its assortment: “apple compote with pieces”, in which the creamy texture of the apple mousse meets apple chunks, resulting in an unforgettable flavour. High-quality steamed apple chunks are combined with apple mousse to create a “ready-to-use” product. This opens up a wide range of uses and applications for customers.
The grand opening of the bee meadow on the Sonnenberg in Kortsch on May 28, 2024, marked another strong commitment by VOG Products to sustainability.
Four out of five of the organic apples processed by VOG Products come from the cultivation of around 600 Bioland farmers in South Tyrol.
Picture: ©Südtiroler Apfelkonsortium
The Kissabel® apple (variety R201) is known around the world for its fruit pulp, which can vary from pink to red. The juice is just as attractive as the apple, mainly because its unique taste and a characteristic red colour ranging from violet to ruby red.
South Tyrol has been the largest organic apple supplier in Europe for many years. That is why the quantities delivered to the fruit processor VOG Products have more than tripled in three years.
Hannes Egger is a mountaineer and "optimiser" in the company.
Puree is an increasingly important product at VOG Products.
Daniel Franco and the balancing act between machine and man.
Ervis Naci from Albania has made the step from worker to head of department.
Each year, VOG Products processes around 350,000 tonnes of apples into juice, puree and concentrate. Water is indispensable in the production process: it serves as cooling and transport water. The company not only uses it carefully, but also several times over.
