Cassava use in Brewery, not ruled out – London-Williams

The idea of using locally grown crops, such as cassava in the production of beer is not an option that the St Vincent Brewery currently has an interest in, however Regional Commercial and Hairoun Brand Manager, Shafia London said that it is not an option that they have ruled out completely.{{more}}

London told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview Wednesday that the brewery is under the management of an international company with restrictions regarding the raw materials used in production.

However, she explained that exploring the use of new raw materials was not an idea that would be disregarded.

“As long as we are satisfied that the local raw materials that will be produced, that it can be use in our manufacturing process and it is of the highest international standards, then it is something that we will definitely pursue,” London said.

She said that she could not confirm whether or not they would be considering a change in raw materials, saying that they would have to wait and see what decision is made.

Regional Coordinator of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Deep Ford during a recent trip here to handover funding to the agriculture sector to farmers affected by the December floods said that the donation was not only to get farmers back on their feet, but to reinstate resilience within the agricultural sector.

According to Ford, crops such as cassava were currently being used in some instances in the baking industry and in Jamaica beer production.

It was reported recently in the Jamaican press that Red Stripe Jamaica were making plans to lease lands for the production of cassava which was expected to be introduced into the production of that beer.

The introduction of locally produced raw materials would contribute to the lowering of the high food import bill Ford explained.

The article indicated that the inclusion of cassava would replace the dependence on the imported American corn syrup.

The article reported that corn made up about 40 per cent of the brewery’s imported raw input, however with the introduction of the locally produced crop, it was expected that it will replace up to 20 percent of the brewery’s imported raw material by 2016. (DD)