BIONERICA LLC

Company Description

Processing capacity Processing capacity is about 100 tonnes of mushrooms, 200 tonnes of bilberries, 700 tonnes of pumpkin seeds and 1, 000 tonnes of walnuts. These walnuts are selected and produced both unshelled, for around 50%, and shelled, vacuum packed or in modified atmosphere. Organization The company is validly constituted, in existence and in the full exercise of its rights in accordance with applicable Ukrainian law. The company’s accounting records are kept correctly, with all procedures envisaged by currently applicable Ukrainian law. Company has held licences for the harvesting of mushrooms, wild berries, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and associated products in the regions of Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rouno and Verkhovyna. Part of its activities, destined for purchase, are dedicated to the processing of mushrooms, such as frozen and dried boletus mushrooms, frozen and dried chanterelles and black trumpets, and of bilberries, walnuts both unshelled and shelled, and pumpkin seeds. Procurement of raw materials: Mushrooms, bilberries and all other wild berries are procured from collection points (about 30) located in the various provinces covered by the licenses for the harvesting of woodland products. Each collection point is run by a manager who handles the distribution of the fresh products purchased, dividing them according to their quality (first, second, third, etc). Special trucks visit collection points to pick up the cases of mushrooms and/or bilberries, which on reaching the company are selected by personnel under the supervision. Development There is also a very real possibility of processing interesting quantities of other raw materials from the agricultural produce sector, which in the woodland berry category are wild blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, and in the category of other crops, with a larger cultivation area, pears, plums and apples, in addition to other fruits, in which the Chernivtsi region is particularly rich. These latter, addressed by BIONERICA LLC most recent feasibility study, can be processed and dried with the same equipment already used by the company. Processing lines Frozen mushroom and dried mushroom line: Boletus Edulis and Cantarellus Cibarius mushrooms (porcini and chanterelles) are gathered in the Putila area of the Carpathian Mountains, near the border with Romania. Careful and thorough inspections on raw materials reaching the factory constitute the first extremely important step of the selection process. Mushrooms are then taken to a cool chamber at 0°C, and are then cleaned and washed, dried and sent to a freezing tunnel. After freezing the stalks are carefully cleaned by expert hands using rotary brushes, and the mushrooms are packed in plastic cases and returned to a freezer chamber at -20°C. The company also has specific cutting machines for the production of sliced mushrooms, which are frozen or dried according to the product type. In the case of Cantarellus Cibarius mushrooms (chanterelles) that are dried, the same initial selection and cleaning process is followed. The mushrooms are then dried with special equipment and sent to one of the 30 manual selection stations, where mushrooms unsuitable for sale are rejected. The remaining products are packed ready for shipment. Bilberry line: On reaching the company, the bilberries are frozen, and then sent to the processing line on a conveyor. The first machine removes foreign bodies and bilberry stalks using a special system. The bilberries are then ventilated in an air separator to remove any underweight and/or undersize product, skins, leaves and bilberry fragments left after the first step of processing. From the ventilator the bilberries reach a selection belt for any necessary manual removal of product with a nonstandard colour. Along this belt 10 female workers select the bilberries manually, and the product accepted for colour and size is packed in 20 kg packs and is then stored in a freezing chamber at -20°C, ready for shipment. Unshelled and shelled walnut line: Unshelled walnuts reach the company and are washed by specific machines. To ensure enhanced nut quality during the washing phase or afterwards in a specific tunnel, they can be bleached with the use of sodium hypochlorite in the proportions permitted by law. They are next placed in containers that are positioned in dryers to reduce humidity contents to the desired level. After drying the walnuts are graded for size and selected by hand on a sorting belt, and are then packed in 25 kg sacks that are stitched closed with a specific device, and labelled, and then placed on pallets ready for shipment. Shelled walnuts are bought on the market or received from outsourced shelling facilities. After reaching the company, the shelled walnuts are dried to the desired humidity level using specific equipment, and are then sorted by size with a vibrating sieve machine that also removes impurities, pebbles and fragments of inner husks and shells, obtaining products of type A (half walnuts), type B (quarter walnuts) or type C (eighth walnuts). Type A nuts pass onto a belt where 6 female workers sort them to remove any residues of shells, husks and darkened or mouldy nuts. After selection the nuts are packed by a vacuum packer in 4 kg bags that are labelled and packed in boxes each with 3 bags. Type B and C walnuts are packed in sacks or big bags and shipped to New Factor for reprocessing with a “SEA” optical selector that eliminates darker nuts, dust and type D nuts. The remaining nuts then pass through a “SEA” resonance selector to eliminate any residual inner husks and shells. The resulting product is vacuum-packed in 4 kg bags and placed in boxes each containing four bags. Pumpkin seed line: After reaching the company, the pumpkin seeds are weighed and processed on a line with 2 special sizing machines that use both a ventilation system and progressive vibrating sieves to remove impurities, pebbles, pumpkin residues, seed skins and empty or broken seeds, sorting the seeds into the various sizes requested by the market in accordance with internationally accepted standards. Once ready, the seeds are packed in 25 kg sacks or in big bags, and are then shipped.