TOKYO - Toshiba Corporation says it will produce long-life vegetables in almost aseptic conditions with the aim of earning around 300 million yen (95 million baht) in sales annually.
Toshiba's plant factory in Kanagawa, Japan.
Noriaki Matsunaga, Toshiba's chief specialist of new business development, said the company was promoting a healthcare business that combines technology and know-how from across the group to support the development of a society where people can lead healthier and happier lives.
Toshiba’s plant factory in Yokusuka, Kanagawa has been constructed and designed to have an environment where germs are much lower than at the level typical for vegetables grown in soil. It is equipped with closed growing systems.
It will start shipping lettuce, baby leaf greens, spinach, mizuna and other vegetables in the second half of the year to supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants with estimated 300 million yen annual sales from production capacity at 3 million head (lettuce-equivalent) per year.
Mr Noriaki said in order to increase sales in this new business, Toshiba is also considering construction of a large-scale plant factory outside Japan, and the sale of equipment for plant factory applications this year.