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The Aloe Supply Chain
Growing and Processing
Premium Aloe Vera
Growing
FFP farms yield thousands of tons of
leaves from hundreds of acres of aloe in its natural
habitat of Guatemala. Aloe growing and processing is the
largest private employment opportunity in the central region of
Guatemala. The rich volcanic soil and ideal weather patterns
in a subtropical zone enables us to grow aloe without the use
of fertilizers. Assays of the gel indicate our mineral content
is much higher than other regions of the world, confirming the
advantage of the rich organic soil. The leaves that grow to or which grow to over 1 kg,
are harvested, then immediately processed after harvest.
Processing
The fields are close to our factory, allowing
for immediate processing after harvesting.
Removing the gel by hand, extracting, filtering, concentrating, then
freezing
the base in a short period of time, is the most effective method
of preserving the natural properties of the gel. In the natural state,
the delicate inner fillets of the aloe leaf are approximately 0.5%
soluble solids.
There are also insoluble pulp fibers
in the natural gel which are generally removed. The water is removed
at cold temperatures in our evaporation systems until reaching 5% (10x
concentrate), 20% (40x concentrate), and eventually 100% pure (200x
powder) solids
The inner gel of the aloe has low
levels of naturally occurring water soluble color bodies. The WG
grade offered contains small amounts of these color bodies and has
a light yellow/tan appearance after extension. The UP grade
has been decolorized to remove the majority of the color bodies with
the result being a water clear material after extension. Aloe that
is processed using the whole leaf (WLG) is always decolorized because
of the yellow sap located in the rind.
Delivery and Customer Service
Bulk aloe is stored in our freezer
at FFP. Immediately prior to shipment, the gel is thawed, packed
and shipped.
The customer receives the freshest, purest, true-to-nature material
available. Our multi-million dollar food processing facility is routinely
audited by Fortune 100 food processors. The size and technical capability
of our staff and food processing expertise is a distinct competitive
advantage.
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