Aronia berries: the new 'superfood'-미국/캐나다 아로니아 소식

[아로니안]

안녕하세요? '아로니아 전도사' 아로니안 김경성입니다.

미국과 캐나다에서도 아로니아 인기가 날로 높아가고 있다는 7월12일자 미국/캐나다의 아로니아 소식입니다. 아래 중심글만 요약해 올리니 참고하세요. 미국은 아이오와주를 중심으로 아로니아산업이 커져가고 있고 그 중심에 에버하트 박사라는 분이 힘을 많이 쓰고 있습니다. 국내 아로니아 산업의 미래를 아래 내용에서 예측할 수 있는데 미국 캐나다에서 지난 5년간 400여가지의 아로니아 제품들이 출시되었다고 하는데 우리나라도 수년내로 그 정도의 다양한 아로니아 제품들이 양산되어 널리 확대되고 그만큼 아로니아 산업도 성장 할 것입니다. 그러므로 현재 아로니아 생과 시장만을 보고 아로니아 산업을 바라볼 필요는 없습니다. 이제 시작일 뿐입니다.^^

아로니아 베리 : 새로운 "슈퍼푸드"

[미조리벨리, 아이오와주 -- 새로운 연구결과에 의하면 기존에 슈퍼베리로 알려진 예를 들면 블루베리, 아싸이베리 그리고 고지베리 보다 더 많은 항산화물 질을 함유 하고 있다고 한다. 아로니아는 쥬스, 분말, 보조제등으로 일반 상점어디에서나 팔고 있으며 아기용 음식까지 다양하다.

지난 5년간 400여가지의 아로니아 제품이 출시되어 있다. 쥬스, 와인, 기타음료형태로..

첫 아로니아 협동조합 - 북미아로니아 협동조합은 네브라스카주의 오마하에 위치하고 있다. 10여개 농장이 참여. 매년 20 밀리언 파운드를 수확할수 있다.

현 경제적 가치로 하면 약 $85밀리언 달러 정도의 경제적 효과가 있다. 이 금액에는 아로니아나무, 열매,처리비용, 농기계 등 아로니아 제품을 완료 하는데 끼치는 경제적 가치이다.

현재 아로니아 열매 시세는 대략 파운드당 50센트부터 $7.50 까지 다양하다.]

*이 글에서 고지베리(Giji Berry는 구기자의 중국발음인 '고지즈'의 Goji+Berry의 합성어입니다. 울프베리라고도 하는데 해외에서는 Goji Berry로 더 널리 알려져 있습니다)는 구기자를 말합니다.^^

우리가 평범하게 알고 있는 구기자도 해외에서는 슈퍼베리로 인정받고 있다는 사실은 우리 가까이에 그 만큼 중요한 것들이 존재한다는 사실을 자각하게 합니다.

Aronia berries: the new 'superfood'

Andrew Pittz of the Sawmill Hollow aronia berry farm offers samples and sells aronia berry products at Whole Foods Market in Omaha, Neb., Friday, April 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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Margery A. Beck, The Associated Press 
Published Saturday, July 12, 2014 3:02PM EDT 

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa -- A new fruit that research says packs more antioxidants than popular "superfoods" like blueberries, acai berries and goji berries is establishing itself in the aisles of mainstream grocery stores, showing up in everything from juices to powdered supplements to baby food.

Its rise from being a novelty item at farmers markets into a multimillion-dollar U.S. industry even includes a name change, from the common chokeberry -- so named centuries ago by European settlers who found the tart, astringent berry more pretty than palatable -- to the aronia berry, derived from its genus, Aronia melanocarpa.

The native North American berry was introduced in Russia and eastern Europe in the early 20th century and has been cultivated there for juices and wines. Now, farmers throughout the upper Midwest are planting the shrubs by the thousands every year. But the industry's roots in the U.S. can be traced to Sawmill Hollow Family Farm in the Loess Hills of western Iowa, where most in the industry believe the first bushes were planted for commercial cultivation in the U.S.

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Andrew Pittz, 28, is the driving force behind the aronia berry's emergence. His family was looking for a crop they could cultivate on the hilly, silt-heavy soil near the Missouri River, and in 1997, Pittz's parents planted some 200 bushes. The bush grows well in the Midwest, has few pests and doesn't have to be replanted every year.

The Pittz family was successful: Sawmill Hollow products now are sold in about half of Hy-Vee's 237 stores, and in all of Whole Foods' 45 Midwest-region stores, according to spokeswomen for the chains. Rather than keep the berry and its economic potential under wraps, Pittz and his family have been spreading word far and wide -- especially throughout Iowa.

The farm holds an annual field day that draws thousands in September, and Pittz planted bushes in all 99 Iowa counties last year. Even Iowa State University is helping promote the berry as a value-added crop and a good way to diversify farm income, offering grants to help people get started.

"We want the aronia berry to be to Iowa's Heartland what the peach is to Georgia." Pittz said.

His family also has taught others how to plant, grow and market the almost black-purple, pea-sized berries. They even share best practices for pruning the bushes for maximum yield, which they developed over nearly 18 years of trial and error. A mature bush at four to five years can produce up to 20 pounds.

Consumers are taking notice of the potential health benefits, said Stacey Loftus, Hy-Vee's health and wellness supervisor. Research published last year in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry says aronia's oxygen radical absorbance capacity -- a standard measurement of antioxidant strength -- shows the berry has one of the highest values ever recorded for a fruit.

"I don't think this is a passing fad," she said.

Antioxidants help protect cells from damage, although there are questions in the medical field as to what role antioxidants play in helping prevent human disease. Federal regulators have, in recent years, targeted companies that have made unsubstantiated health claims about antioxidant-containing products. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission upheld a judge's decision that POM Wonderful made deceptive claims that its pomegranate products could treat or prevent heart disease, prostate cancer and other illnesses. The FTC's action is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

More than 440 new products containing aronia -- mostly in juices, wines and other drinks -- have been introduced worldwide in the last five years; about 60 of those are in the United States, according to the 2013 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Food Processing Center's Product Traffic Report, supported by the U.S. Agriculture Department to track new food products.

Aside from Sawmill Hollow products, widely distributed mainstream brands have jumped on board, such as Old Orchard juices and Beechnut baby foods, which introduced an apple and aronia berries puree this year.

The first aronia co-operative -- the North America Aronia Cooperative, based in Omaha, Nebraska -- was formed earlier this year with members from 10 Midwestern and Great Plains states. Group president Colleen Nipp says the co-op is capable of producing up to 20 million pounds of fruit a year and estimates the current economic impact is about $85 million, "which includes plant sales, berry sales, processing charges, harvesting equipment, growing supplies, irrigation equipment and the sale of finished aronia products."

But with the industry is in its infancy, it's difficult to provide overall yearly production numbers or even a common price per pound. Midwest Aronia Association president Melissa Ehrman Johnson says her group, which has members in 12 states and Ontario, Canada, has farmers fetching anywhere from 50 cents per pound to $7.50 a pound.

Johnson and her husband got into business in 2009, planting about 300 bushes on their 10-acre homestead in southwest Iowa farm. The venture has already proved to be profitable, she said, as she's hoping to move from on-site sales to commercial marketing this year.

There is much to be learned, Johnson says, from another industry that has seen enormous success with its own bitter berry: the cranberry industry.

"We actually have a gentleman who's on the Cranberry Association who has worked with us from the early get-go to help us out with ideas along the way, particularly with processing ... and recipe and product development," she said.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/aronia-berries-the-new-superfood-1.1911118#ixzz3CmEKXi5j

[베리사랑(논산)]

아로니안님 좋은정보 감사드립니다.
미국의 아로니아의 열매시세가 최대가격으로 1파운드에 7.5달러면
우리나라 가격으로 1kg에 17,000원 정도 하는 가격이니
생산단가를 조금만 낮춘다면 우리나라 아로니아 역시 국제 경쟁력이 충분히 있다 생각합니다.

우리나라는 세계적인 식품회사가 여럿이 있으므로
가공식품을 개발하여 세계시장으로 진출한다면
우리나라 아로니아 농산물 분야는 이제 시작이라는 아로니안님의 말씀에 동의합니다.
늘 감사드립니다.

[아로니안]

네. 맞습니다. 우리보다 10년 이상 앞선 미국이 최근 5년간 400여가지의 아로니아 상품이 나온 것만 비교해봐도 한국의 현재와 앞으로의 시장 예측을 유추해 볼 수 있을 것입니다. 아로니아 산업은 이제 시작일 뿐입니다. 그리고 세계 시장은 아직 시작도 안되었다고 보시면 됩니다.