?The development of new processing techniques that add shelf life without preservatives has encouraged Northern Ireland company Davison Canners to branch out into new products.

Originally an apple grower and processor for food service and catering, Davison Canners now offers ready-to-eat branded snack pots with a 12-month shelf life under the Total Fruit name. Vending machine companies and airline caterers have shown an interest, and with the addition of a new spoon-in-the-lid version it has won a listing in Republic of Ireland store chain Superquinn.

The company began in 1973 as a grower and canner of fruit and veg on its 120-acre farm in County Antrim before specialising in Bramley apple processing.

Its poached apple packs already provide the fillings for apple pies and crumbles in stores such as M&S, but technological developments have enabled it to expand into new product lines.

It is the first farm in Ireland to install a micro-sprayer frost protection system to prevent crop damage and safeguard fruit quality. And its ultra-low-oxygen storage system, with a capacity for 4,000 tonnes of apples, extends the storage life of apples from three months to up to 15 months.

Now berries from the Netherlands are being added to the apples to create four varieties of ready-to-eat fruit compôte pots - apple, apple & cinnamon, apple & blackberry and apple & raspberry.

At present a small amount of sugar is added to the product, but with the children's market and school vending machines beckoning, blends are being developed that use pears or summer fruits instead of sugar to add natural sweetness.

The company believes the general market trend towards health and convenience make this the right time to launch healthy snack pots. The fact that they have a 12-month shelf-life and contain no preservatives, artificial colourings or flavourings will appeal to retailers, adds the company.

"We believe this is a chance to establish ourselves with an apple-based compôte that is 99% fat-free and packed with vitamin C," said Glenn Waddell, sales manager at Davison Canners, which had a turnover last year of £1m.

"We are already supplying a chain of delis in Hungary, but our main aim is to supply the UK through the bigger retailers as the premier supplier of apple compôte.

"Our philosophy is to look after our customers on price and quality, and then the product will speak for itself."

The company has the capacity to produce up to 50,000 125g pots of several different varieties a week, at a retail price for spoon-in-the-lid pots of 49p.

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