YUMA, Ariz. – Datepac LLC, the country’s largest Medjool date packer and shipper, has invested in new controlled-environment drying rooms to ensure food safety and strict product quality of the Bard Valley Natural Delights Medjool Dates brand.
Five (5) new drying rooms have been completed in the first of multiple phases of construction at Datepac headquarters in Yuma, Ariz. Designed to hold 63,000 pounds of Medjool dates, each state-of-the-art facility uses advance technology to monitor room temperature and humidity to ensure optimum product quality. The addition of the five rooms increases the number of dry rooms from six to 11, with a total capacity of 10 million pounds. Datepac will add five additional drying rooms by the end of this year.
"The new drying rooms allow us to boost our capacity to efficiently dry and store our industry-leading volume of Medjool dates,” explained Ed O’Malley, president of Datepac. “More dry rooms are planned as our crop production and value-added product development efforts expand in the coming years."
Datepac is owned by leading members of the Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers Association (BVMDGA), who together, control more than 70 percent of the Medjool date crop in the U.S. Bard Valley Natural Delights is the country’s #1 brand of Medjool dates and are sold in supermarkets and club stores throughout the country.
Known as the “Fruit of the Kings,” Medjools are a good source of fiber and contain more antioxidants than blueberry juice and only slightly less antioxidants than pomegranate juice. Naturally sweet, they contain no added sugar and are low glycemic for sustained energy.
For information and high-res art on Natural Delights, including recipes, serving suggestions and nutritional information, go to www.naturaldelights.com or email info@naturaldelights.com.
About Bard Valley Medjool Dates
Known as the “Fruit of the Kings,” caramel-like Medjool dates are considered the best-tasting, most luscious dates in the world. In addition to being a good source of fiber, they contain no added sugar, are high in antioxidants and offer important vitamins and minerals including Potassium, Copper, Magnesium, Vitamin B6, Niacin, Calcium, Iron and Vitamin K.
The Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers Association, a consortium of family growers in the southwest, is responsible for 70 percent of the Medjool dates grown in the U.S. For more information, visit www.bardmedjool.com.
Source: Bard Valley Medjool Dates
