By Katie O’Keeffe-Swank ktswank@yahoo.com
Bursting with nutrition and flavor, berries literally liven up salads, pastas, fish and meats, breads and muffins, pies, ice cream, yogurt, and smoothies and other beverages. You name it.
Native Americans were the first to realize the nutritional value of berries and to incorporate the tangy morsels into their diets. Nowadays, berries are highly prized for their versatility and healthfulness thanks largely to research surrounding the benefits of antioxidants, which continues to pay off for the berry industry.
“The National Berry Crops Initiative (NCBI) is predicting that consumers will triple the amount of berries they consume in the next 15 years,” says Nate Nourse, executive committee member of the NCBI ( www.nationalberrycrops.org), president of the North American Strawberry Growers Association, and a member of the North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association (NARBA).
The reason for the expected growth is simple — berries taste great and are really good for you. Blackberries have the highest content of antioxidants per serving ( 5.75 mmol) of any foods, according to recent studies. In addition, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, and blueberries are in the top 10 of antioxidant-rich foods.
Marketing the benefits has proven successful, as increases in domestic production supp ort this promising trend. Reported domestic production of fresh blackberries increased by 23% between 2005 and 2007, while fresh blueberry and strawberry production increased 18% and 11%, respectively, according to the USDA’s National
Agricultural Statistics Service. Berry imports have increased as well, per the
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
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