Posted on 01/22/2005 12:01:35 PM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
If a daily spoonful of cherry or blueberry concentrate is good for one's health, how about fruit in a capsule?
Brownwood Acres Foods struck a deal last year to market and distribute capsules of whole fruit developed by Flavonoid Sciences, a Traverse City company.
Founded by former cherry farmers Bob and Janet Underwood, Flavonoid developed a process of condensing cherries and blueberries into a paste, which is stuffed into bite-sized softgels. They retain 90 percent of the nutrients in fresh fruit, said Steve de Tar, Brownwood Acres president.
The company is focusing on overseas markets for the softgels - particularly in the Far East, where there is strong interest in preventive medicine, de Tar said. It recently made its first shipment to South Korea and is seeking government approval in Taiwan.
James Joseph, a Tufts University scientist who has studied the health benefits of blueberries, said a consumer's best bet remains fresh fruits and juices. But if they aren't available, the softgels might make a good substitute, he said.
"I'd want to know how they make the concentrate and what they've done to keep it from losing its integrity over time," he said.
De Tar said lab tests showed the softgels have a two-year shelf life. The gelatin casing prevents oxygen exposure that would degrade the fruit paste, he said. Consumers are warned to keep the gels away from direct sunlight or temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, which could cause melting.
One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall
What a waste. Cherries and blueberries are delicious. Why not just eat them? Blueberries freeze quite well, so you can have them when they are not in season. I pick gallons during the summer and put them in the freezer.
Eat fruit, It tastes good.
Question: At what temperature is the berry "paste" sealed into capsules? Seems it would be more than 90 degrees, but I don't really understand the encapsulating process.
Gimme a bottle of those pills... please!!!!
It's funny, I have given up on buying it fresh, because they are all from Mexico and Chile, and they are already rotten and moldy by the time they get to the store shelves. So I found frozen blackberries in the ice cream section last night, and picked 'em up.
All you have to do is respond to the flood of emails I imagine you receive every day offering the same benefit.
I don't like fruit so these would be good for me. I eat a lot of veg but no fruit. If I'm lucky I can gag down a banana every now and then
You can freeze them for a year. It is best to use them up before next years crop is ripe.
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