Frequently Asked Questions

 

Would you tell me more details about Pentaor?

Pentaor was established in 1997 by the food engineer and biotechnologist, Dr. Oren Ben-Israel, as a dynamic start-up R&D company, specializing in food technology.  The major activity is initiated development of food products, mainly dry-mixes.   Furthermore, Pentaor operates a factory, especially designed for the production of the Bases, which are needed for the manufacturing of the final products.  Therefore, Pentaor can be characterized as a producer of technology and knowledge, which are "translated" to simple and easy-to-handle standardized ingredients.

 
 

	What are these Bases, offered by Pentaor?
	These Bases are concentrated hi-technology ingredients, available in powder and liquid forms.  They provide the final products their unique characteristics and their added value.  In most applications, the contribution of the Bases to the final products is in the following aspects: flavor and aroma, flavor enhancement, texture and color.

 
 

What is the main advantage of the Bases provided by Pentaor?

The Bases are the components which make the difference between regular "industrial flavor" products on the one hand, and rich and qualitative products as like as the ones offered by the leading international brands, on the other hand.  This unique contribution to the final products is mainly achieved due to the special flavorings, natural extracts, flavor enhancers, natural food colors, and other unique ingredients included in the Bases.

 
 

What kinds of applications are being offered by Pentaor?

Our main strategy is to develop the most qualitative products available, composed of the best ingredients, accompanied by economic production costs.  The main products offered include:  soup mixes, sauce mixes, mixes for instant dishes, cake mixes and jelly mixes.   Pentaor is focused especially in the development of products involving simple production process, with no need for considerable initial investments.

 
 

Is the production procedure of dry-mixes complicated?

The production process is very simple.  Basically, for most of the applications, it is based on the following steps: - Weighing the raw materials (Needed: scales). - Melting the hydrogenated fat (Needed: a large pot, heated by gas/electric stove or by steam). - Pouring the melted fat into the mixer (Needed: a mixer for powders, preferably equipped with lumps crusher). -Adding, gradually, the other ingredients, according to the recommended instructions. -If needed, transferring into intermediate containers. Packaging (Needed: automatic packaging line, or manual sealer). Therefore, the main machinery needed for the production itself is a mixer for powders, equipped with a lump crusher.  Obviously, in addition, there is also need for other aids like: scales, heater for the hydrogenated fat, packaging machine/sealer and some other common accessories (tables, containers, etc.).

 
 

	To whom the offered technologies are appointed?
	The technologies are targeted mainly to medium sized food factories seeking to introduce new qualitative and attractive food products, in competitive prices and low production costs.

 
 

What is the space needed for the production of the final products?

The needed space required for the manufacturing of the final product depends on many parameters, like: the production capacity (Tons/month), the held stocks, the variety of products, the method of packaging and so on.  In general, for the production of approximately 5-10 Ton dry-mixes per months, packed manually in large packages, an area of about 50-100 m2 is required, depending on the stored stocks of the raw materials and the final products.

 
 

	Does Pentaor also produce the final products?
	As a specialized technological company, Pentaor does not produce the final products or other products rather than these Bases.  Food traders and other companies who are interested to purchase the final products can get part of them from our Hungarian daughter company Creo-Foods, www.creo-foods.com.

 
 

	Can Pentaor supply all of the ingredients needed for the production of the final products, like: dehydrogenated fat, dextrose, maltodextrin, starches, dehydrated vegetables, monosodium glutamate, etc.?
	Pentaor is not a trade company.  The most economic solution is to purchase these commodities locally, "first hand".  However, if needed, we will be pleased to refer to potential suppliers in different countries for the other ingredients needed for the production of the final products.

 
 

Where the products developed by Pentaor are already applied?

These products are successfully manufactured in Israel, by the local licensee and marketed mainly to the institutional market.  Last year, Pentaor established concrete business relationships with several dominant food manufacturers in Eastern Europe, and currently the final products are being manufactured and sold in the retail and in the institutional sectors in some countries in Eastern and central Europe.

 
 

	Can you refer us to the regional agent in our country?
	Our business strategy is to maintain all of the contacts directly with the final manufacturers, without mediation.  In this era of "global world", this is the most efficient and economic way for import-export relationships.  Pentaor makes all efforts to simplify the needed international trade procedures and to minimize the required bureaucracy.

 
 

What is the shelf life of the final products?

It is common to define shelf life of dry mixes as one year.  However, the shelf life determination of dry mixes is not absolute, in contrary to pasteurized milk or fresh meats, for example.  The shelf life of the dry mixes depends on many variables such as: quality of the dehydrated vegetables (irradiated are preferable), water content of the starches (the lowest – the best), storage temperature and conditions, production sanitary and permeability of the packages.

 
 

	Some of your soup mix applications contain dehydrated meats.  However, our company is specializing in vegetarian products.  Can the meats be omitted? Do your Bases contain ingredients derived from meat?
	In all of the offered applications, the dehydrated meats can be omitted.  The presented applications are very rich, even without meat, due to the substantial contribution of the Bases to the flavor intensity and richness.  All of the Bases are 100% vegetarian, i.e., without ingredients derived from animal origin.

 
 

	We carried out degustation tests for your soup mixes.  The responses were very promising, but some degustators found a few soups to be a little bit too sweetish.  How can it be corrected?
	There is a difference between the worldwide attitudes toward sweetness of savory dishes.  The applications developed according to the average human taste.  Obviously, you may "play" with the sweetness by replacing the sugar in the formula with a bulking agent like maltodextrin.

 
 

Our factory is a large catering plant.  We wondered whether your Bases can be used for more applications rather than dry mixes?

The recommended applications offered by Pentaor serve for demonstrating potential uses for the Bases.  However, the Bases can also be incorporated into other final products rather than those offered by Pentaor.  For example, the Bases for the soups can be used not only for the production of soup mixes, but also for the large-scale production of ready soups.  For large caterings, that may save up to 70% of the costs paid for purchasing soup mixes.  Another example may be directly implementing the Bases for the cakes in the production of prepared fresh cakes by large bakeries.  Pentaor will be pleased to provide the needed assistance for carrying out these and other adaptations.

 
 

	Our company is specialized in dietetic products.  Thus, we think that there might be a great potential to have a line of soup mixes, with low salt.  Do you have solutions for that?
	In all of the soup mixes and the other savory formulas, a specific portion of the salt can be replaced with Potassium Chloride, in order to receive a low-salt formula.