H2O-ganics, a hydroponic specialist based in Launcestin, UK, has created a method to produce clean grown salads and herb products. The technique is based on the benefits of hydroponic systems with controlled environment agriculture and cleanroom technologies.
Planning has been granted for H20-ganics to build a "proof of concept facility" at Moulton College in Northamptonshire to showcase the technology.
The site is designed for growing green leaf salad and herbs all-year-round. Architecture and management company Arctica, based in Stamford, is assisting H2O-ganics with setting up the facility.
Arctica delivered the drawings required to get the project into planning and is now examining work flows to optimise them for more efficient processing. The company is also assisting in the fit-out of the building with appropriate technology to provide the best possible facility, including lighting and ventilation.
Commenting on the project, Niall McQuitty, Arctica director, said: “Green leaf coming from other markets – such as Spain – takes 24 hours to transport to processing facilities in the UK. It can take up to three days from picking to packing which means, by the time it’s in the shops, it has lost up to half its shelf life.”
McQuitty also pointed out that washing, drying, mixing, bagging and transport all require care because the leaf is fragile and prone to damage – it also reduces shelf life.
“H20-ganics creates a high care environment in which to grow the leaf that removes most of these stages from the process. It can be harvested, cleaned and packed without losing quality, thereby increasing its shelf life,” McQuitty said.
Nick Bateman, H20-ganics chief executive, said: “H2O-ganics produce is not grown in soil but produced in a fully controlled clean environment, which keeps out pests and pathogens, while maintaining the optimum conditions for plant growth."
Bateman said the unique combination of technologies, for which the company has a technology patent pending, allows product to be grown year-round, in the UK, with secure supply chain and efficient production process.
“Using our controlled environment approach to agriculture and cleanroom technology, we are able to produce a consistent specification of product 365 days of the year, without the use of pesticides.”
Arctica began work on the project after a meeting at Foodex in April 2016 and the development is due for completion at the end of 2018 or early 2019.
H2O-ganic's system is based on a series of mobile multi-level trays circulating within a "bio-hall" designed as an energy-efficient closed greenhouse. It uses dual LED and diffuse natural light.
Humidity, temperature and CO2 are all monitored and adjusted automatically within the cleanroom growing environment, so the crop does not need to be washed before packing.
