OUR PRODUCTS

TOMATO PASTE

In making the tomato paste, ripe and juicy tomatoes harvested from the field are first checked at the raw material control station and those with the desired characteristics are accepted into the production line. The accepted ones are taken to the pools and then they are passed through the washing operations. After the washing stage, it is passed through the sorting bands, and final controls are made before it is smashed. After decomposition, it is taken to preheating units called Eldorado for enzyme inactivation and enzyme inactivation temperature is applied according to the desired viscosity value in tomato paste. Afterward, they are passed through sieve systems, separated from their seeds and skins, and tomato juice is obtained. The tomato juice obtained is concentrated to the desired Brix (Dry Matter) value by feeding the evaporators, and tomato paste production is completed. The paste obtained is then passed to aseptic filling units, where it is sterilized and cooled, respectively, and packed under aseptic conditions.

Our Paste Types:

Packaging:

Produced tomato pastes are packaged in Barrels or BINS packages (Goodpack).

ASEPTIC DICED TOMATOES

In the production of Aseptic Diced Tomatoes, harvested ripe tomatoes are first checked at the raw material control station and those with the desired characteristics are accepted into the production process. The tomatoes that have passed are taken to the tomato pools and then they are passed through several washing operations. After going through the washing operation, firstly the small ones are calibrated and only the suitable sized ones are fed to the production line. Then, it passes through optical sorting machines and is sorted according to color. Only the good red ones pass into the process line. Then, the skins are peeled off in the peeling units, diced in desired sizes, mixed with the previously prepared tomato puree, and then diced tomatoes are ready. Just as in tomato paste production, the diced tomatoes pass to aseptic filling units, where they are sterilized and cooled, respectively, and packed under aseptic conditions.

DICED CANNED TOMATO

The production stages of tin-canned diced tomatoes is the same as in the production of aseptic diced tomatoes, until the dicing process. In the filling phase of the canned diced tomatoes in to the tins, first, the tomato puree is filled into the bottom of the box. Then the diced tomatoes follow and finally, more puree is added before final closing of the lid. Then, the tin cans are passed through the pasteurization/cooling tunnel, pasteurized, and stored on pallets. During the shipping phase, the labels/branding is added and packaging is made according to the customer’s request. Canned peeled whole tomato production stages are almost the same as in canned diced tomatoes. Only in this production process, the tomatoes are sent to the can-filling line without being chopped or diced.

VARIETIES OF DICED CANNED TOMATOES

Aseptic Diced Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)
A-9 Tin Can Diced Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)
A-10 Tin Can Diced Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)
A-12 Tin Can Diced Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)
A-9 Tin Can Peeled Whole Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)
A-10 Tin Can Peeled Whole Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)
A-12 Tin Can Peeled Whole Tomato (Cutting Size: 3/8” – ½” – 5/8” – ¾”)

TOMATO JUICE CONCENTRATE

Everyone is surprised when they hear that a tomato is actually a fruit. It is actually classified as a fruit with seeds inside (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato). However, this makes sense when you consider that tomatoes are sold on the juice shelf alongside oranges, apples, peaches, pears, apricots, mangoes, pineapples, cherries and other fruits. Initially, tomato juice concentrate (more commonly known as tomato paste) was used more by ketchup and sauce manufacturers. And these manufacturers focused primarily on viscosity and color as the main determinants of quality for these products. However, as the usage areas of tomato paste expanded, especially for tomato juice production, quality parameters such as acidity, taste and aroma gained importance. Especially those who want to add high-quality tomato juice to their blended juices should determine the acidity, color and viscosity values. Merko produces excellent quality tomato paste for both tomato juice as well as ketchup and sauce production, using high-quality tomatoes grown in the Southern Marmara and Aegean Regions of Turkey. For this, ripe tomatoes harvested at the best time of the season are used. In this way, desired acidity, viscosity and color values can be achieved.

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