Our Process

Shelf-stable foods have been processed and packaged the same way for more than a century: in pressurized cookers at high temperatures for up to an hour. This prolonged exposure to high heat damages the food in a way that destroys its nutrients and requires additives, including excess sodium and color, flavor, and texture enhancers to compensate.

With our patented Blue Halo Method using MATS technology, packaged foods are simultaneously heated externally in a pressurized hot water bath and internally using a patented microwave energy delivery system at a frequency of 915 megahertz. By very rapidly heating the entire package to sterilization temperature and then rapidly cooling the food, pathogens and spoilage microorganisms are eliminated in a matter of minutes.

This shortened heating time preserves the nutrients, color, texture, and flavor of foods — while providing a shelf life equivalent to conventionally processed foods.

The Blue Halo Method: A Whole New Category of Foods

Our Blue Halo Method using MATS technology opens up a whole new world of prepared and packaged food possibilities. Until now, heat sensitive products like eggs, meat, seafood, and dairy ingredients could not be conventionally processed. While MATS eliminates harmful pathogens, it has a light touch with food: aromas, flavors, and textures stay intact and spices maintain their character.

MATS Naturally Processed Foods are:

HIGH QUALITY

Greater nutritive value and better taste, texture, and color.

STERILE

Blue Halo processed foods can remain on the shelf (in a retailer, home, or warehouse) for up to 12 months (or up to 5 years for meals-ready-to-eat). No refrigeration is required.

SHELF STABLE

Blue Halo processed foods are completely sterile: all spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms are destroyed or deactivated.

CLEAN LABEL

Because heat exposure is minimized during the MATS process, foods do not require excess sodium and unnatural additives to enhance color, taste, texture, and flavor.

The Nutritional Difference with MATS:

A typical salmon dish using MATS technology may retain 5.3 mg of crucial Omega 3s, whereas today’s retort processed product would retain a negligible 0.3 mg.

Blue Halo food recipes start with 50% less sodium yet still taste much better than their traditional retort counterparts.