I came across an interesting article http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/2010/04/blueberrys-superfruit-status.aspx published by Food Product Design. It advanced the notion that wild blueberries (lowbush) offer a more nutrient dense option over cultivated blueberries. And to boot, wild blueberries apparently contain 25% fewer calories over their cultivated cousins. In case your were wondering,  we use wild blueberries in our Berry Cherry Acaí flavor of TeatherⓇ. That’s not what proved most attention worthy…

Reviewing information sources for the article led to finding an important research study published during 2002 in the Journal of  Food Science.  http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/person/37108/PDF/2002JFoodSci67_1660_1667.pdf .The study addressed the effects of processing on phytonutrient levels (specifically anthocyanins). Removing fruit skins in producing fruit concentrates is responsible for a tremendous loss of phytonutrients (60-65% of the anthocyanins found in whole blueberries). Anthocyanins reside in fruit skins and are responsible for the color of blueberries. Why is this important? Beyond other phytonutrient benefits, the antioxidant properties of blueberries are attributable to anthocyanins. When much of the anthocyanins are removed, the antioxidant power of this incredible fruit plummets as well. The lesson is simple: use whole fruit for maximum health benefit.

With Teather^Ⓡ you can be assured we use every part of this nutrient-dense berry – fruit skins, seeds and everything else. Using anything less than the whole fruit is simply a wasted effort.

In our second video episode we commented on the nutritional consequence of using fruit concentrates. Namely, in producing fruit concentrates a waste byproduct, pomace, is removed. Seeds, “skins” and pulp of fruits largely make up pomace.

In recent article on foodnavigator.com http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Cranberry-waste-may-lead-to-alternative-ingredients, the nutritional benefits of cranberry pomace are recognized, particularly for robust amounts of  phytonutrients such as procyanidins and flavonols. It’s suggested the pomace byproduct could be put to use in functional foods. Wouldn’t it make more sense, in many food applications, to simply retain the pomace of fruit ingredients in the first place? Fruit leathers certainly come to mind as but one such example.