NAPASOL and Cosmed Group Settle Food Safety Technology Patent Infringement Claim

NAPASOL and Cosmed Group Inc., two companies whose technologies are based on combining steam and vacuum to pasteurize and sterilize low moisture foods such as herbs, spices, nuts and seeds, have reached a settlement concluding 12 months of litigation.

Reinach, Switzerland (PRWEB) June 21, 2010

NAPASOL, a Swiss company headquartered in Reinach, provides turnkey solutions for pasteurization & sterilization plants designed for in-house use by food operators looking to pasteurize their products.

In June 2009 Comed filed suit against Napasol for infringement of its patent rights in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California Case No. 2:09-cv-01728-MCE-GGH. Napasol subsequently filed a declaratory judgment action in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Cedar Rapids Division, Case No. 1:09-cv-00130-EJM/JSS.

Cosmed, headquartered in Jamestown, RI, holds the patent rights for the technology in the US and has other patents pending. NAPASOL, supplying food safety technologies outside the US is now licensed by Cosmed to supply this natural process in the US.

Cosmed’s core competency is decontamination technologies and they have developed a natural vacuum and steam process “H2O Express.” The company received a patent for the technology in 2004. With facilities in Linden, NJ; Baltimore, MD; and Newman, CA, they are the market leader in contract pasteurization services and uniquely positioned to offer this service to treat low moisture foods. Cosmed also supplies equipment for in-house use.

NAPASOL, who commercializes its technology worldwide, entered the US market in 2009 with a first plant commissioned for Frontier Natural Products Coop of Norway, Iowa, for the pasteurization of their organic herbs and spices. Frontier Natural Product Coop were also assigned by Cosmed in this patent infringement case.

Dieter Kundig, President of NAPASOL AG commented that: “With the positive outcome of this settlement both companies benefit: The license agreement demonstrates Cosmed’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property while enabling Napasol to actively develop its activity in the U.S. market.”

Recent product recalls affecting the nut, seed and spice industries have heightened the awareness of the food safety risks associated with contamination issues.

These low moisture foods have been shown to have the potential to be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms and sampling, as a means to detect their presence, is insufficient to eliminate these risks. When they are utilized without going through a cooking step they present a real food safety risk. To insure the safety of these low moisture foods, technologies which deliver a homogeneous pasteurization & sterilization treatment throughout the product need to be applied. This is particularly true for herbs, spices, seeds, and nuts.

There is a growing interest in vacuum and steam pasteurization as consumers and regulators are looking for a process, more natural than fumigation or irradiation, to insure the safety of those low moisture foods.

NAPASOL AG
The Swiss food safety company is successfully commercializing its natural steam vacuum based technology for the decontamination of low moisture foods. Growing demand for the technology to process herbs, spices, botanicals, nuts, and dry fruit, is due to repeated product recall incidents and the demand of the industry to insure the safety of their products in house.

Contact:

Dr. Cameon Ivarsson
NAPASOL AG
Nenzlingerweg 5, 4153 Reinach, Switzerland

Cameon(dot)ivarsson(at)napasol(dot)com
Phone: +41 61 712 33 22
http://www.napasol.com

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