Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Info provided by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

They stand out for their exclusivity, exotic origin, special handling, their organic or natural ingredients, their design, unusual use and other factors of course, that have an impact in a higher price. The “foodies” consumers that are in love with these type of products, are always willing to pay a higher price for selected food implying a specific experience. This is the reason why they are always checking the labels, the consumption’s ways, the characteristic flavor, the history of the products amongst many other details.

As we have mentioned in a number of occasions, once we identify the demand and its preferences, it is necessary to know the requisites in order to better access the market. To this effect, the FDA Federal Regulations Code of the United States, establishes the requirements to produce and import canned products which responds to the need of guaranteeing the wellness of the consumer. This is the reason why the authority puts special attention to inspecting the packaging process as well as the cooking, the acidification as well as the quality control of the water. On the other hand, even when there are no limitations for the packing materials the FDA, demands that packing should be hermetically sealed and that it should be sterile even in the absence of refrigeration.

Added to this, there is a system to certify the quality of the canned product that consists in keeping the standards of the Agricultural Marketing Service of the Agricultural Department of the U.S. (USDA) and this system qualifies canned or packed food in three categories: A, B or C, the first one corresponding to the highest product quality. Therefore to reach level A, canned vegetables must be perfectly uniformed, be chopped and compact, free of damages or decomposed and ripe.

Lately, our country takes advantage of this window and exports more and more canned fruits and vegetables, and the case of asparagus, artichokes, olives, paprika and heart of palms are, amongst some of the products that are emphasized. Nonetheless, dear reader, the sent volumes are still insignificant against the huge and increasing demand of the American market. This is why we should really prepare ourselves to be able to comply with the requirements but also to add more value to our products and be able to offer the exquisite gourmet consumer the high quality products he is used to consuming and also try to encompass the unbelievable experience to their palate.



*Translated by Joceline Frank

Frankly Speaking Inc.