Amercit (UK) of Southend-on-Sea, has developed a process to remove unwanted pith, peel and membrane from citrus fruits such as oranges before segmenting them.
After five years of research and development costing more that £2.7 million, its production line is ready to turn more than 20 tonnes of oranges into Citrus Gold segments every day.
Amercit sales director Andrew Rodwell said: "We hope to employ over 50 new people on a 24/seven basis at our Southend factory alone. That will be just the beginning. Our oranges and grapefruit are unique, with massive market potential for supermarkets, schools, fast-food outlets, cafes, cinemas and coffee shops."
Amercit is remaining tight-lipped over its secret preparation process, which has been patented world-wide.
The company is working to tie up deals to sell its segments in major stores and schools in the UK and hopes eventually to export the process to the US.
The process removes the unwanted extras from the fruit without cutting or damaging it. Mr Rodwell explained: "Scientific evidence has proved that cutting fruit shocks it into self-destruct mode. We have perfected a system which gently undresses citrus fruit, leaving it free off peel, pith, and segment skin for a superior taste and shelf life well in excess of 10 days. Initial responses from trade and consumers is looking very promising and there is no doubt that we have something very special here".
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