Posts Tagged “blueberries”
Americans are nearly twice as likely to buy blueberries now as nine years ago, Hebert Research found in its recent survey of 3,765 primary household shoppers.
“We do these surveys every five years to make sure we’re moving the needle, and this one shows an excellent return on our investment,” said John Shelford, a member of the council’s promotion committee. “We went from 39 percent awareness of health benefits in 2004 to 84 percent today, more than doubling awareness in 10 years. That’s remarkable.”
As in 2008, the typical blueberry consumer in 2013 was upscale, well educated and white — but more likely to be from a minority. Consumers, primarily ages 46 to 65 in 2008, have grown more likely to be 35 to 44.
“We really have been focusing our efforts on developing the future generation,” Shelford said. “In terms of market channel, fresh has a preference with customers. We work hard to bring fresh to them, but it’s challenging given the labor situation. The industry has a number of ready-to-eat providers today thanks to new sorting methods, so the consumer can have that fruit before it’s frozen.”
Shoppers are now likely to buy blueberries based solely on health benefits, the survey found.
Asked what they like most about the fruit, consumers cited health (84%), taste (81%), convenience (61%) and versatility (44%), among other attributes.
Nutritional benefits were widely acknowledged. For example,, 99 % believe blueberries are a healthy food.
Consumption of wild blueberries can help blood vessel function and health, according to new research conducted by European researchers.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in a study supported by the Alpro Foundation Grant and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, published the report last September.
The Wild Blueberry Association of North America in Portland, ME donated blueberry test materials (typically freeze dried powder of whole blueberries) for the study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Reading in Reading, United Kingdom, University Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany, and the University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.
The findings are the first to link wild blueberry polyphenols, natural compounds that are present in goods volume in wild blueberries, to improvements in vascular function in healthy men, according to a news release from the WBANA.
“Importantly, even the lowest amount of wild blueberries tested in the study, equivalent to 3/4 cup of wild blueberries, was able to improve endothelial function, which is an amount easy to incorporate into a daily diet,” Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, from the Division of Cardiology, Pulmunology and Vascular Medicine at the University of Dusseldorf, said in the release.
“The simple message is eat your fruits and vegetables in all the colors,” said David Bell, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission. Bell said the research on health benefits may perhaps be true for cultivated blueberries, but researchers only studied wild blueberries.
Less than one percent of Maine’s wild blueberries are sold fresh, with nearly all the harvest frozen. Maine’s growers harvest about 86 million pounds of wild blueberries annually.
Bell said there are many more health studies “in the pipeline,” with more studies using clinical human trials and also delving into the “why” behind apparent health benefits.“What I think we are figuring out is that blueberries are up regulating some (positive) genes and down regulating other (negative) genes,” he said.
An Oregon State University (OSU) study has discovered two compounds found in red grapes and blueberries may be able to enhance people’s immune functions.
The university’s Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) analyzed 446 compounds to test their effects on immunity, and observed a positive correlation with resveratrol and pterostilbene, found in red grapes and blueberries respectively.
The researchers saw these compounds worked in synergy with vitamin D and had a significant impact in raising the expression of the human CAMP (cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide) gene that is involved in immune function.
“Out of a study of hundreds of compounds, just these two popped right out,” LPI principal investigator Adrian Gombart said in a release.
“Their synergy with vitamin D to increase CAMP gene expression was significant and intriguing. It’s a pretty interesting interaction.”
The two compounds, known as stilbenoids, are produced by plants to fight infections.
The studies were supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
While the folks in New Jersey who are paid to promote Jersey agriculture, they are touting great crops of peaches, blueberries and vegetables this year. However, excessive rains the first half of June may have an impact on shipments. Just keep an eye on what you are loading in case quality has been adversely affected.
Full crops of peaches and blueberries are being forecast for this season. Blueberry loadings are just now starting in the southern part of New Jersey, while peach shipments should get underway in mid July and continue into mid August.
The asparagus harvest is underway and other vegetables are expected to follow soon.
New Jersey ranks second nationally in blueberry shipments.
However, most agricultural products are in the greenhouse and nursery products sector. Roses, chrysanthemums, geraniums, lilies, orchids and poinsettias are all grown for the urban markets. Nursery products include grass sod and ornamental shrubs (arborvitae, holly, juniper).
Concerning produce, New Jersey ships significant amounts of of asparagus, bell peppers, eggplant, endive, lettuce and spinach.
Cabbages, snap peas and corn are also raised. Additionally, the state has apples, peaches and strawberries, although the later is mainly involvedwith pick your own operations.
Two of the biggest markets for Jesery produce are New York City and Philadelphia, although shipments do occur in many other eastern markets.
While studies have shown transporting strawberries and some other produce items in a modified atmosphere extends the quality and lifespan of the items, how safe are these food items to eat that have been exposed to carbon dioxide (CO2) for nearly a week?
Rich Macleod, a scientist and basically the manager of the pallet divison for Transfresh Corp. feels this is a reasonable question for people to ask.
“The use of carbon dioxide in the handling of perishables is incredibally common,” Macleod states. He points to the use of CO2 in soda, which are the bubbles you see.
As for TransFresh, Macleod says the Organic Material Research Institute has certified the Tectrol application as organic. “So we are certified for use as an organic product,” he states. “The impact of CO2 in terms of maintaining the quality of the product….using a gas we breath in the environment, is an excellent trade off for what you get for enjoying more strawberries.”
As previously reported in this series, using the pallet covered system, Tectrol (CO2), results in less decay in strawberries (see chart).
Macleod, who started out as a lab assistant with a masters degree in post harvest science, sees the next step in research being to define what CO2 does for the nutrient value of strawberries. Such a study has never been done, he notes. He is hopeful such research will take place within the next five years.
While Tectrol’s primary use is with strawberries, it also is used with raspberries, blueberries and other items.
However, it also is found in containers on shipments by boat with items such as avocados, asparagus, and stone fruit for both imports and exports that are in transit eight to 10 days.
“Your cut salads are all cousins to the wrapped pallet program (with modified atmospheres). In fact, the cut salad program preceeded the pallet covered program,” Macleod says.
(This is Part 5 0f 6, featuring an interview with Rich Macleod, vice president, pallet division North America for TransFresh Corp., Salinas, CA. He has been with company since 1976, and has a masters degree in post harvest science from the University of California, Davis.)
Vancouver, B.C. – The outlook for British Columbia’s 2013 blueberry crop is strong, according to the British Columbia Blueberry Council. If current weather trends hold, picking could start as early as the first week of July, coming in a couple of weeks earlier than last year’s harvest.
Early varieties of blueberry are already in full bloom, with later varieties also progressing well. Although it’s too early in the season to predict the size of the harvest, the region has had great weather for pollination. While there have been reports of some farms experiencing a shortage of bees, British Columbia is expecting an ample supply of good quality blueberries for the 2013 season.
“The last couple of years have been record crops for BC, but picking has started late,” said Debbie Etsell, executive director of the BC Blueberry Council. “The combination of the mild winter and warm spring this year puts us on track for a harvest that is more typical, as far as timing goes, starting around the first or second week of July.”
About the British Columbia Blueberry Council
The British Columbia Blueberry Council represents over 800 blueberry growers, located in some of Canada’s most rich and fertile farmland. Plantings of premium quality highbush blueberries top 11,000 hectares in British Columbia and produce upwards of 55 million kilograms of blueberries annually. With more than $1 billion in sales in the past five years, Canada is the third largest national producer of sweet and juicy highbush blueberries in the world. Available fresh in B.C. from July through October, BC blueberries are also frozen, dried, juiced, puréed and powdered, available for year round-distribution throughout Canada and around the world.
Source: British Columbia Blueberry Council
Florida blueberry growers and shippers remain optimistic despite two consecutive years of weather challenges. Those in the industry call it the ‘blue wave.’ Shipments are continuing the increase each year.In 1995, annual per capita consumption of blueberries in North America was just 15.5 ounces. Then in the late 1990s “blues” were labeled a super food followingresearch by the late Jim Joseph, a human nutrition researcher at Tufts University in Boston. The study revealed blueberries having the highest antioxidant levels among 40 common fruits and vegetables. Anti-oxidants inhibit cell damage related to aging and diseases in the human body.
By the year 2000, per capita blueberry consumption had jumped 15 percent to 17.8 ounces, and soared through the rest of the decade, reaching 39.5 ounces in 2011.
Then scientist Paul Lyrene, a horticulture professor at the University of Florida, developed new blueberry varieties suitable for Florida’s warmer climate based on native bushes he found in the Winter Haven area,.
The USDA reports over the past 20 years Florida commercial blueberry shipments have grown from 2.1 million pounds on 1,200 acres in 1992 to 17.1 million pounds on 4.500 acres in 2012.
The Florida blueberry shipments occur generally from late March to early May, depending upon weather and market conditions. During that time, Florida is the nation’s only source of domestic blueberries.
Strawberries
While strawberry shipments from Ventura County are in a seasonal decline, berry volume from both the Santa Maria area and the Salinas/Watsonville district are on the rise.
Overall this season, I’ve been disappointed in the quality of California strawberries, both in taste and appearance. As long as your receiver knows what they are having delivered, then it should reduce your chances of claims or rejections. Hopefully quality will improve with the transition to northern shipping areas.
Studies have shown if your load has pallets with sealed bags from Tectrol with the CO2 modified atmosphere, you will have berries with better arrivals and extended shelf life.
California has refined growing methods on more than 40,000 acres and have improved yields by 44 percent since 1990, but you can’t control Mother Nature. About 90 percent of USA grown fresh strawberries are from California.
The Salinas/Watsonville district is easily the state’s most important when it comes to strawberry shipments, with loads amounting to nearly half of California’s production.
During a year, Salinas/Watsonville ships nearly 20,000 truck load equivalents of strawberries, with the Santa Maria district moving nearly 11,000 truck load equivalents and Southern Californa shipping over 12,000 truck load equivalents.
Blueberries
Although a few California growers began harvesting and shipping early blueberry varieties last March, the bulk of loadings occur in May and June, with the season ending by July.
California is now shipping blueberries and all the signs point to good volume and quality. The Golden state this year is expected to exceed the 1,100 truck load equivalents of “blues” shipped in 2012.
California is home to 80 blueberry producers and 20 handlers, and ranks fifth nationally blueberry shipments.
Blueberry volume is light, but seasonally increasing from the southern and central disticts of California. Raspberries are in light volume from Ventura County.
Salinas strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $7500 to New York City.
Georgia shipments should start from the Fort Valley area in mid-May, about a week or two later than in recent years. Loadings should be more normal this season, with peak movement occurring in July and continuing until about August 10. The season then should conclude a week or so later.
Looking at Vidalia onions, too much rain, mostly in March, is resulting in a disease known as seed stems. This results in bolts, flower stalks and seeds showing up on the plants in the field. Seed stems cause the core of an onion to become hollow, which results in rapid deterioration of the entire onion. Most of this is problem is removed at the packing shed with grading, but keep an extra eye out for it when loading. A significant reduction in loading opportunities is expected because of the problem.
South Carolina peach shipments typically follow Georgia shipments, with only a few days or a week separating when the two areas start and finish.
Michigan
Michigan ranks third in the nation for asparagus shipments, annually producing 25 million pounds. The harvest is usually underway by May 1st, but cold weather has the crop behind schedule. Asparagus should finally be getting underway anytime now.
Michigan also is one of the leading shippers of blueberries., with loading opportunities normally from June to September, with the most volume occurring in July and August.
“Blues” shipments from Michigan totaled only 72 million pounds in 2011 and 87 million pounds in 2012. This year, it may return to a more normal loading amount at over 100 million pounds of blueberries.
Strawberries continue to be a favorite of consumers, as well as other berries ranging from raspberries to blueberries and blackberries. The popularity of each continues to increase. The fruit not only is tasty, but healthy.
The agricultural lending company Rabobank sees retail berry sales continuing to incrase by seven percent annually for the next three years.
Rabobank’s Food and Agribusiness Research and Advisory group recently released a report, titled “The U.S. Fresh Berry Boom — Who Will Profit from the Growth?”
No surprising is the report notes California will continue to be the leading producer of fresh berries for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Sharpest gains in recent years have been with strawberries and blueberries.
California produces 88 percent of the country’s fresh strawberries and significant portions of fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Florida is also a significant producer of fresh berries.
During the fall and winter months strawberry and blueberry importes from Mexico and Chile compete directly with Florida’s season. Chile now accounts for over 50 percent of imported blueberries.
Consumers are now purchasing more berries that been grown south from British Columbia and continuing all the way south along the coast to Chile. This shift will continue following seasonal patterns, but also seeing increased volume in the more southern regions.
Over the past five years, California has shown tremendous growth in strawberry production the past five years. In 2008, the state produced 114 million cartons of strawberries, which grew to 181 million cartons in 2010. In 2011, volume actually slipped to 178 million cartons but this year, but in 2013, the total volume should be in the 190 million carton range.
The majority of those gains come from increased yields. California’s strawberry acreage totalled 36,519 acres in 2008, but was down to 37,732 acres this year.
It is a different story for blueberries. Worldwide statistics show total world acreage of blueberries has grown significantly over the years. It has quadrupled in the past 15 years and now sits near 200,000 acres with most of that being in North and South America. The Americas represent close to 80 percent of the world’s blueberry acreage and production.