A major U.K. food-processing company has its eye on the technology that Vancouver-headquartered Alterrus Systems Inc. (CNSX:ASI)(OTCQB:ASIUF) has developed as part of its VertiCrop urban crop-growing system.
Alterrus announced this morning that it has been working with U.K. food-processing giant Birds Eye Iglo Group to conduct growing trials using the technology, which allows for food to be grown in urban environments, at Birds Eye’s facilities in Devon in southwest England.
The companies have been testing the growth of basil, spinach and other greens for the last eight months.
“There’s no waste water, no need for any pesticides and because it’s in a controlled environment, the water and nutrients are optimized and circulated through the system,” said James Young, Birds Eye head of European vegetable procurement. “Because the crops are grown indoors, they are not affected by the weather and can be grown without pesticides.”
Young explained that the VertiCrop system has the potential to allow Birds Eye to grow crops year-round.
“The hypothesis is that we’d be able to have a continuous flow of material through the year, which would be a much better use of factory utilities,” he added.
