Since 2020, the Japanese have been sampling the region’s garlic and analyzing the components of the extract
In Platykambo, Thessaly a delegation from the Japanese giant “Wakunaga” is expected in the next few months, which has expressed its interest in investing in the area and setting up a garlic processing plant. This is emphasized by its president, speaking to APE-MPE Platykampos Agricultural CooperativeYannis Koukoutsis, underlining characteristics: “for three years the variety of garlic cultivated by the 15 farmers of the cooperative in the area have passed the tests in the laboratories of the Japanese giant with flying colors and now that we are convinced that the high quality of our product “does not it happened, but it worked”, it’s time to take our cooperation a step further”.
In particular, from 2020 the Japanese take samples from the garlic of the region and analyze the components of the extract. “What they found is that the quality characteristics of Platycampus garlic are world-class,” he explains.
Asked about the amount of the investment, but also about when the creation of the garlic processing unit is expected to start, Mr. Koukoutsis notes that “all this, as well as many more, will begin to be discussed at the first opportunity that let’s meet closely”.
It is recalled that the beginning of the contact between the two aforementioned parties was made with the analyzes carried out in his laboratory by the professor of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the University of Thessaly and regional councilor Dimitris Kouretas. “It is these analyzes of the professor that attracted the interest of the Japanese, who use the garlic extract for medicinal purposes and for the production of nutritional supplements.”
A variety that goes for PDO and is over 200 years old
The 15 cultivators of the Agricultural Cooperative of Platykampos cultivate on 250 acres the variety of garlic that “magnetized” the interest of the Japanese and now bears the brand name “eNtopio” while it has been produced in the area for more than 200 years, according to Mr. Koukoutsis. On an annual basis, it is estimated that one acre yields one ton of garlic, while the production cost is 1,300 euros/acre, according to the president of the Platykampos Agricultural Cooperative.
It is “a demanding variety of garlic, with the risk being recorded as high in terms of its cultivation, since it is vulnerable to diseases”, Mr. Koukoutsis points out, adding that “the growers are really meticulous and methodical in everything , what concerns the care of their culture. And it is their special care that placed the product on the pedestal it deserves,” he emphasizes.
In the context of the producers’ effort to shield their product, Mr. Koukoutsis informs that “within the next few days the relevant file will be submitted to the Region of Thessaly, so that eNtopio can receive the PDO product label”.
The cooperative has a total of 120 members and apart from garlic, its members grow grain and cotton.
What is the history of Japanese ‘Wakunaga’
The story of “Wakunaga” began with the vision of a Japanese banker, who believed that pharmaceutical companies should devote themselves to the research and development of products that will improve and support good health.
It was in 1955, when Wakunaga founded the eponymous pharmaceutical company in Osaka, Japan, and soon after, with the German academic Dr. Schnell, developed a unique process that not only eliminated the strong odor of the herb, but also enhanced the beneficial compounds responsible for garlic’s health benefits. Over the next few years, the supplement gained great popularity throughout Japan. About two decades later, the Hawaii-based company began operating in the U.S., marketing products under the “Kyolic” brand.
The preparation with the “aged garlic extract”, which according to all indications is expected to be produced in the new investment of the Japanese company in Platykambos, Thessaly, is Wakunaga’s best-selling nutritional supplement, with the health benefits, as she emphasizes, to be particularly important and to support the immune system, cardiovascular health, blood circulation, the intestinal microbiome, but also the reduction of risk factors for diabetes.
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