About Verjen
The term “vegetable oil young” became popular in Iranian culture when industrial oils were supplied extensively in the Iranian market and people came to believe that older people who had consumed virgin and non-industrial oils had more power, health, and strength than those young people who ate foods prepared by industrial oils. The term may seem a bit exaggerated, but it’s not far from the truth.
In 1987, Abkar-e Golestan Agro-Industrial Company with the brand “Verjen” started to combine the traditional methods of extracting oil from the high-quality seeds with the best hygienic techniques (cold-pressing) to supply extra-virgin oils for the first time at the national level. The name Verjen has been derived from a Persian word meaning “virgin and pure”, and the word Abkar is the plural form of the word Bekr meaning “virgin”.
Due to the high experience of managers, the presence of specialized personnel, and equipping the company with modern agricultural machinery and equipment, all stages of farming, production, packaging, and distribution are conducted autonomously by the company, and it can be claimed that the label production is the only stage of the packaging process that is conducted by forces outside the complex.
The company has provided the results of years of its experience and expertise for consumers in the form of 100% pure vegetable oils with a completely natural flavor and aroma. The extra-virgin oils can be considered a good alternative to traditional oils.
Verjen is not only a brand, but it is also a symbol of health that strives to promote the culture of proper use of extra-virgin oils to make maximum use of the nutritional value of natural seeds and ensure the health of the community. The taste and aroma of Iranian foods are doubled with vegetable oils and the right culture of consumption prevents diseases.
A Big Goal behind a Simple Idea
In 1978, two brothers from a farming family, who had succeeded in pursuing agriculture and mathematics professionally at the University of Tehran, realized an important issue in the food industry of the country. Seeing the pervasiveness of industrial oils, which have caused great harm to the people, they understood the market’s need for organic vegetable oils.
They combined the 60-year experience of several generations of their family in agriculture with modern science to extract vegetable oils from seeds planted by Iranian farmers under the supervision of agricultural experts in a completely hygienic manner.
Every year, hardworking Iranian farmers cultivate the best oilseeds on a large scale in the country and produce a completely natural and organic product, while there are many transgenic imported grains in the market that have low prices, and on the pretext of higher profits, some prefer to buy cheap transgenic grains for the oil extraction.
Someone had to do something for the health of the people, and this was the rationale of the formation of the Verjen Company based on a humanistic view
Now, the company is handled by a new generation that has very high energy and the original goal of the company is to promote the culture of consuming healthy oils, transfer the knowledge of healthy living, and try to fight against transgenic products and eradicate cancer tsunami, especially colon cancer.
High-quality Products from Agricultural Farms
Farming is one of the most honorable and difficult jobs in the world. To produce a small glass of organic oils, farmers go through the months of planting, holding, and harvesting, and they take care of their crops in the heat and cold so that the seeds reach the harvest stage.
Sometimes some people turn to imported grains which are mostly transgenic to escape these difficulties.
Knowing the important role of Iranian farmers in producing high-quality products, the Verjen appreciates the efforts of Iranian farmers in cultivating high-quality seeds and has selected the fertile agricultural fields of Golestan province to provide raw materials for the factory.
To ensure the proper quality of the seeds consumed, the specialized team of the Verjen supervises all stages of cultivation and harvest of seeds and entering them in hygienic conditions to the factory.
After entering the factory at the receiving station, the seeds are sifted and cleaned and washed with freshwater and dried at low temperature and transferred with a standard moisture content to a cold-storage warehouse which is equipped with cooling installations to be ready for consumption.
Oil Extraction by Cold Pressing Method
In the distant past, to extract oil from vegetable seeds, two huge and heavy millstones are rubbed two each other for hours using a horse to gradually extract the oil of seeds. This horse was called the “oil-pressing horse” and fed on the press cake or residue remained from the oil extraction. This work was so difficult that the “oil-pressing horse” was known as a symbol of hard work.
During the traditional oil extraction process, the seeds were constantly exposed to the ambient air, and dust particles and various contaminants could enter the oil bottle.
Fortunately, today there is no need to use millstones and tire the horses. New and completely hygienic methods have been developed that extract organic vegetable oils with the same quality but healthier.
Cold pressing is the best method of oil extraction. No chemical composition is used in this method. Thus, the Verjen Company has chosen this method.
In this method, the oil is extracted by mechanical pressure on oilseeds and fruits at ambient temperature (22 to 25 degrees). If the oil is overheated during extraction, it loses its vitamins, antioxidants, and useful fats such as omega-3s.
The oil obtained by cold pressing method maintains its pleasant flavor and aroma and all its nutritional value is preserved. This type of oil is marketed as extra-extra-pure oil.
In other methods of oil extraction used in some factories, to extract completely the oil inside the seeds, high heat is given to the seeds during the production process and chemical solvents are used to extract all the oil from the seeds. Refined oils in the market are produced by this method.
Why the Verjen?
Verjen has been the first company in Iran that started to use the cold pressing method to produce organic vegetable oils.
In addition to their usability in various stages of cooking, the extra-extra-pure oils produced in this factory have many healing properties and can help to treat various cancers, prevent and reduce hair loss, treat diabetes, prevent Alzheimer’s, lower blood pressure, treat heart diseases, and decrease heart attacks and strokes.
Some of the most important benefits of extra-extra-pure oils are:
- Healthy product
- Oil extraction by a special method
- Preservation of vitamins, antioxidants, and useful fats such as omega-3s in the production process.
- Washing the seeds before the oil extraction
- Observance of the UV standard to keep oil bottles away from damages caused by the sunlight and keep products inside the bottle safe from spoilage.
Verjen Achievements
What we have succeeded to do so far is the result of the trust of our customers and the support of the hardworking farmers and our compassionate team.
Some of the most important steps that we have taken to achieve the best product and the best quality are:
- Using up-to-date knowledge to achieve mass production.
- Recruitment of skilled and specialized domestic workforces.
- Establishing the R&D department.
- Using an expert team to taste the oils.
- Creating a market research network.
- Consulting with agricultural specialists and food industry engineers at all stages of production.
- Achieving an extensive sales network in Iran.
- Creating a professional customer response team to support the customer.
Honors and Certificates
For the Verjen Company, the ideal quality of the product can be achieved and healthy oil can be produced only by observing the highest standards in all stages of work from cultivation to production. Enjoying the technical knowledge of specialized forces and the special supervision on its equipped laboratories, the company is always trying to achieve global standards. This company has spared no effort to reach the top position in the production of extra-extra-pure oils in Iran. The efforts of this team have not been hidden from the eyes of consumers and health officials, and in addition to global certificates, it has also won numerous domestic honors and certificates, some of the most important of which are:
- ISO9001: Quality Management Certification
- ISO22000: Food Safety and Related Hazards Management Certification
- OHSAS18001: Occupational Health and Safety Management Certification
- ISO14001: Certification of Product Quality Assurance and Service Delivery in accordance with Environmental Requirements
- Health apple of the Ministry of Health: A symbol for food and beverage products that have been produced based on the health and safety standards. It is given by the Ministry of Health to the qualified products.
- Iranian national standard symbol: the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI), as the technical supervisor and qualitative inspector of Iranian goods, is responsible for compiling the national standards of Iran.
Customers are very important and valuable for the Verjen Company. Thus, we have made every effort to supply products that meet the needs of the customer. Our ultimate goal has not been to receive these certificates, but they show that we have gone through the right path.
Education and Culture-building
To fulfill its social responsibilities, the Verjen Company has put culture-building on its agenda. To achieve this goal, promotional programs of the company’s executive team have been focused on educating students as the future hopes of the country and one of the influential groups in family decision-making.
Therefore, students are allowed to visit the factory for free to become familiar as much as possible with industrial and manufacturing activities, jobs, and how the knowledge has been turned into production and employment by the Verjen team. In recent years, various students in different educational levels, especially students of Golestan province, have been guests of the Verjen.
Under the supervision of the Verjen team, students observe all the stages of the oil extraction from the cultivation of the seeds to the production of oil, and during the visit, they are fully informed by the experts of the need to implement the given stages.
Students who visit the factory become familiar with the method of producing extra-extra-pure oils and learn about the advantages of this method of oil extraction over other methods. We try to take a small step towards building the culture of healthy eating to promote the health of Iranian society by informing the students about oil as one of the main components of the foods.