MENA’s first freeze-drying factory to be built in Saudi Arabia with up to SAR 300 mln investments

Logo of Future Harvest for Food Industries

Future Harvest Co. for Food Industries is working on the construction of a 7,500-square-meter (sqm) freeze-drying factory in Sudair City for Industry and Businesses — the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Chairman Ziyad Al Yabis said.

The commercial production of the plant is expected to begin during the second quarter of 2023, the chairman added, explaining that Future Harvest is a Saudi company established in April 2021 in Riyadh, with investments of up to SAR 300 million under a five-year plan.

He explained that the company seeks to become the industrial center and research reference in freeze-drying technology in the region, which will be a tributary to support supply chains locally and regionally.

The technology serves businesses, consumers and research in food applications, including vegetables, fruits, liquids, coffee, meat, diet and astronaut meals, yeasts, herbs and spices as well as in research in medical applications. This comes in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for sustainability, better quality of life and food security, Al Yabis noted.

On the other hand, CEO Moayed Al-Jammaz said the technology was used by NASA in the US to prepare astronaut meals. It was used for the first time by the agency as part of the Apollo Lunar Exploration Mission (ALEM) Program.

The technique works by freezing and then reducing the surrounding pressure to allow water in the material to be sublimated directly from the solid to the gaseous state, without going through the liquid state.

Products are dried without exposure to heat. This ensures that quality, taste, flavor, shape, color, size and nutritional components (vitamins, enzymes and minerals) are maintained by up to 97% compared to other food preservation methods, he explained.

This technology will achieve ease of transportation for the less-heavy products due to the drying rate of up to 99%, allowing for the storage of food at room temperature without the need for refrigeration or freezing. It will also add longer shelf life to the product that may reach more than 15 years. Freeze-dried materials are easier to return to their previous state than other drying methods, the CEO added.