The opening ceremony of the Pilot Scale Pistachio Processing Facility established in cooperation with the Vice Presidency of Life Sciences of TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center and Gaziantep Commodity Exchange (GTB) within the scope of the INNOFOOD Project implemented within the Competitive Sectors Program was held with the participation of Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank.
Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, former Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül, TUBITAK President Hasan MANDAL, TUBITAK Vice President and TÜBİTAK MAM President Ahmet YOZGATLIGIL, INNOFOOD Project Coordinator Cesarettin Alaşalvar, heads of institutions and protocol members attended the opening ceremony of the Pilot Scale Pistachio Processing Facility established on Gaziantep-Nizip Highway.
Following the opening ceremony, Minister Varank and the accompanying delegation visited the Pilot Scale Pistachio Processing Plant and made inspections.
The facility aims to improve pistachio processing conditions in Gaziantep by establishing a scientifically and technologically fully equipped pilot scale processing line for pistachios. The Pilot Scale Pistachio Processing Line will be a role model in the sector with its R&D services, which were established to enable the processing of pistachios in a much higher quality and healthier way with high technology instead of traditional methods, and to increase the interest of industrialists and other institutions in the region in R&D and hygienic pistachio production.
Built on an area of 6712 square meters, the 1 million 526 thousand 879 Euro machines in the facility were procured within the scope of the INNOFOOD project and consist of six units. These units consist of cleaning, roasting (soaking and peeling), cracking, roasting, crushing and packaging lines. The plant has a maximum daily processing capacity of 30 tons of dry red shelled pistachios (2 tons per hour) and a product output of 1 ton of roasted pistachios per hour and 1 ton of roasted inner pistachios per hour.
The Pilot Scale Integrated Pistachio Processing Facility opened in Gaziantep, the homeland of pistachios, will contribute to keeping the quality and food safety at the highest level by processing pistachios with advanced technology.
WHAT IS THE IPA-INNOFOOD PROJECT?
The Establishment of Research and Innovation Facilities to Enhance Regional Competitiveness in the Food Industry Project (INNOFOOD) is a major infrastructure investment and R&D project covering the establishment of research, laboratory and innovation facilities to support SMEs serving in the food and beverage sector across Turkey, especially in the 12 Level II regions of Turkey defined as priority regions for development. The project aims to support SMEs serving in the food and beverage sector to improve product quality and safety, develop R&D-based product/production technology, and increase their competitiveness in international and national markets.
To serve this purpose, TÜBİTAK MAM-led Turkey Food Innovation Platform (TÜGİP), a communication network and clustering platform for all actors in the food and beverage sector, was established through the project. The Food Innovation Center, consisting of an advanced food safety laboratory and pilot processing facilities, and the establishment of regional laboratories and systems are reaching the final stage.
