Hamburg-based fruit ingredient specialist Bösch Boden Spies, together with its brand partner since 2005 Niagro, have launched a new product – acerola puree, made from the acerola cherry, with 25 percent more vitamin C.

Common names for the acerola cherry include Barbados cherry, West Indian cherry, wild crepe myrtle and seriz (Haitian Creole). Acerola is native to South America, southern Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil and Central America, but is now also being grown as far north as Texas and in subtropical areas of Asia, such as India.

The acerola cherry is known for being rich in vitamin C, and also contains vitamins A, B1, B2, and B3, as well as carotenoids and bioflavonoids, which provide important nutritive value and have antioxidant uses. The acerola cherry is known as a superfruit and contributes to the strengthening of the immune system. The berry can also be used in supplement form as a tablet or powder, but also in products such as shakes, confectionary and cereal bars.

The acerola puree from Niagro, the world’s largest producer of acerola cherries follows  years of research looking into how acerola cherries can be used. For example, acerola puree can add an extra dose of vitamin C to yogurt, ice cream, smoothies, jams, fruit preparations for baked goods and baby food. The product is also 100 percent natural – acerola varieties with a consistently high vitamin C content were created by selecing and crossing acerola plants that are particularly rich in vitamin C. 

Like all of Bösch Boden Spies’ acerola products, the new puree comes from Brazil and complements the company’s existing range of fruit purees.

Holistic health is not only a trend, it’s a way of life, Natalia Willner, Team Lead Marketing at Bösch Boden Spies tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “Consumers are looking for ingredients that meet their individual dietary requirements. Clean and clear label products, short ingredient lists and natural substitution of synthetic ingredients coloring are requirements that consumers demand. Acerola is meeting all of these, and can upgrade a product and its packaging with its Brazilian heritage,” she says. 

“The demand is increasing rapidly indeed and dry weather can have an impact on the Acerola crop,” Willner continues. “That is why Niagro is increasing acreage each year and has established a sustainable sourcing program.” 

“As natural ingredients are gaining importance on consumers’ minds and shopping list, we are very optimistic on the rise of acerola in NPD. Products are not only supposed to taste good but also bring an additional health benefit. Acerola can tick all these boxes,” Willner notes.

Functional vitamin C champion with EFSA health claim
As the acerola cherries are very delicate, they are immediately processed into fruit puree or concentrate after harvesting to preserve the vitamin C. The fruit puree is orange-red in color and has the tartly fruity taste typical of acerola cherries. 

However, it not only serves to enrich food with vitamin C, the acerola puree also imparts a subtly sour taste and a stable product color, according to the company. Acerola has other functional benefits as well. As the vitamin C champion of the fruit world, it is the ideal substitute for synthetic ascorbic acid E 300, because it minimizes oxidative processes in food. Furthermore, the fruit also contains large amounts of riboflavin, a substance that is important for metabolism. Because the acerola cherry has been granted a health claim by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the new acerola puree is particularly suitable for clean-label products and opens up a wide range of applications and possible claims for producers, says Bösch Boden Spies. 

In June 2018, NutritionInsight reported that Diana Food set out to explore the positive impact of polyphenols on the modulation of gut microbiota by creating a research chair to study the prebiotic role of polyphenols. The company concluded that tropical fruit, such as bananas, camu-camu and acerola had a specific prebiotic effect in that they can modulate gut microbiota in a positive way.