Educational Visits in the Academic Year 2021-2022

1. DIRFIS MUSHROOMS S.A.

Our students enthusiastically watched the production process of edible mushrooms as well as medicinal mushrooms while they had the opportunity to watch the standardization process as well as the multitude of products that the company manufactures with mushrooms as raw material. We particularly want to emphasize the effort of the company's owners to pass on their know-how and show us the entire process followed, from the production of the substrate (organic residues) for mushroom growth to the transformation of this organic substance into food of high nutritional value, the mushrooms. It is also worth mentioning that the company utilizes the residues from mushroom production in the production of compost, so the "exhausted" mushroom substrate can be an excellent soil improver, thus enhancing sustainable development within the framework of the circular economy model. In addition, an update was made on the quality assurance systems implemented by the company.

As part of the visit, there was a tour of the facilities, a presentation of the winemaking process, as well as a Tasting of Wines produced by the company. The students saw up close the state-of-the-art winemaking machinery with modern grape collection, the vinification and fermentation area with stainless tanks, the bottling area, the underground cellar for maturing the barrels and aging the wines and of course the tasting area where they tried typical products of the winery .

3. ROUBIS V., BFRESH production of soft drink juices from citrus fruits.

As part of the visit, a guided tour of the VRoubis facilities was carried out where products linked to a healthy lifestyle and sustainable development are produced daily. In particular, a complete presentation of the hand-crafted processing stages of Greek raw materials, pasteurization and the final bottling line was carried out. The owner also emphasized the importance of using natural ingredients, rich in antioxidants and their multiple health benefits. In addition, an update was made on the quality assurance systems implemented by the company.

As part of the visit, a tour was held at the company's facilities where flower and horticultural seedlings are produced for crops. Information was given by the specialized staff and the owners of the business about the sowing process, the equipment used and a visit was made to the greenhouses where the seedlings are grown. A specially designed area has been created in the company, an experimental field, which operates throughout the year and in which new varieties, which are proposed by suppliers, are tested. All the steps of the production process were presented, the peculiarities of the different species were explained, natural resource management issues were discussed and all the questions submitted by the students were answered.

As part of the visit, a tour of the company's facilities took place where a group of highly qualified personnel undertakes the complete design of poultry units and their implementation. Information was given on the various peculiarities of poultry farming units, required equipment, feed, as well as the need for optimal planning and management of poultry farming units. In the Hellenic Quality Foods company's broiler poultry farm, the steps of the production process were presented, the peculiarities of poultry in their various stages of development were analyzed, modern water and feed technologies were demonstrated, issues of rational utilization of the by-products of such a poultry farm were discussed, and overall, students' questions were answered in the framework of the poultry production process.