Friday, January 30, 2009

Baobab’s Reproductive Biology


Mostly bats (Ephormorphus wahlbergii and Rousettus aegyptiacus) pollinate the flowers. The flowers emit what some describe as a strong carrion smell, which is presumably attractive to the bats; it is also known to attract the bluebottle fly (Chrysomyia marginalis) and at least 3 nocturnal moths: American bollworm (Heliothis armigera), red bollworm (Diparopsis castanea) and spring bollworm (Earias biplaga).

Friday, January 23, 2009

Vitamin C Rich Exotic Fruit Will Soon Dock in England


An exotic African fruit will soon be available in England. The Baobab fruit, claimed to have six times the vitamin C of an orange, will soon be hitting UK markets under an EU ruling.

Resembling a coconut, the Baobab fruit contains twice as much calcium as milk and also has a very high in anti-oxidants, iron and potassium.

However, the fruit will not be sold as a whole fruit owing to its hard shell, but it will hit the shelves in the form of cereal
bars and smoothies.

Till date, the fruit was barred from UK markets as legislation does not allow the import of food which has not been commonly consumed in the EU before 1997 and all new foods have to be formally approved before they can go on sale.

However, the baobab fruit got this approval after heavy lobbying from PhytoTrade Africa, an organization that promotes fair trade.

"The EU decision is a crucial step to developing the global market which could be worth up to £500 million a year," The Telegraph quoted Gus Le Breton, chief executive of PhytoTrade Africa, as saying.

He added: "Baobab is an ideal ingredient for smoothies and cereal bars, and its well documented nutritional benefits provide manufacturers with a new opportunity to target the booming market in healthy foods.

"Dozens of companies have shown interest in baobab since we submitted the application and many have already conducted initial research. Now that approval has been given, they can progress to full-scale product development."

Since generations, this white powdery pulp has provided health benefits in its native Africa.

Source-ANI

Friday, January 16, 2009

Baobab to hit the big time next year, predicts Mintel


The main nutrients include vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, pectin and citric, malic and succinic acids, while the oil also contains the vitamins A, D and E.

Since the fruit gained novel foods status this year, it can now be used in a range of food products, including cereal bars and smoothies – and the indications are that food makers are very interested.

“Each year, there’s one hot new superfruit and this year, exotic baobab seems to be the one,” said Mintel.

Its confidence is shared by Afriplex, the South African supplier that petitioned for the approval, together with trade association Phytotrade Africa.

In a recent interview with FoodNavigator.com William Smith, marketing manager of Afriplex said: “The response from major food companies has been absolutely phenomenal”.

In additional to the novelty factor, Smith drew attention to the sustainable and fair trade aspects. Boabab is wild harvested, and the benefits of the commerce are channeled to the communities that need it.

Afriplex is also pursuing GRAS (generally recognised as safe) status in the US.

The spotlight is expected to be particularly intense on foods and flavours of Africa in the run up to the 2010 football (soccer) world cup, to be hosted by South Africa.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Funtional Food Industry Sees 27% Increase


Wild Harvest Pharma’s extensive research indicates that the global functional foods market will be worth about €175 billion by 2012 – a 25% jump over 2007 levels of €120bn, according to Euro monitor International data.

In a global health and wellness market, which Euro monitor puts at €450bn, functional foods are the fastest growing sector and second only in value to naturally healthy foods (€155bn), both now and in 2012.

By 2012, better-for-you foods (€140bn) will be the third highest selling category, followed by vitamins and food supplements (€60bn); organic (€24bn); botanicals (€22bn); slimming products (€8bn); food intolerance products (€6bn) and sports nutrition products (€2.4bn).

The UK, together with Germany, has the highest spending functional food consumers in Europe (spending nearly € 175 per person annually). Another important health claim for functional food is anti-oxidation. According to a survey, 73% of the German public would buy enriched foods and drinks with anti-oxidation properties (Anonymous, 2004). In Europe, the concept of smoothies first became popular in UK, where this market was estimated to be 18.7 million liters by volume and £69.4 million retail value in 2003.

World-wide, the total turnover of botanical remedies and dietary supplements increased sharply, especially in the 90s, and almost doubled, from U.S. $12.4 billion in 1994 to U.S. $20.3 billion in 2003.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Super Foods Sales Expected To Double By 2011


The Super Foods and drink market is expected to almost double in the ten year period up to 2011, says a new report as UK consumers continue to seek the health benefits linked to the foods.

The trend towards positive nutrition is well reflected by the recent popularization of Super Foods, especially in the UK and US. Data monitor says the market would have grown from €5,872m ($8,013m) to €7,448m ($10,163m) by 2011. As a result, Super Foods like Baobab are seeing a surge in demand.