Thumbs up for African superfruit pulp

Smoothies, cereal bars, biscuits and other products containing pulp from the exotic baobab tree could soon find their way onto UK supermarket shelves after EU regulators gave the fruit the green light.

Although pulp from the nutrient-packed fruit has been consumed for years in Africa via drinks, confectionery, baking and ice cream, it has not been widely consumed in the EU prior to 1997, and so is subject to the Novel Food Regulation. This means that it has had to go through a lengthy authorisation procedure before being approved as a safe food ingredient in the EU.

Now that it has been endorsed as safe, manufacturers are free to use it in a wide variety of foodstuffs from drinks to snacks in the EU, says trade association PhytoTrade Africa, which lodged its application to gain EU approval to market the pulp in summer 2006.

The pulp, which is derived from the fruits of the Baobab ‘upside down’ tree, has a fruity, citrus flavour, is rich in soluble fibre, vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium and iron and high in antioxidants.

Separately, PhytoTrade is also preparing a Novel Food application to gain approval to market oil from the marula tree in food in the EU.

Indigenous to southern Africa, the marula tree is from the same family as the mango. Its fruit contains a stone with edible seeds that can be crushed to release oil with a similar fatty acid composition to olive oil, but with far greater stability.

PhytoTrade Africa chief executive Gus le Breton said: “Marula oil is really well-known in Africa, where it’s used to baste meat because it’s a great antioxidant and helps to preserve it in the heat.”

Another Novel Food application attracting a lot of attention is for a lentinan-rich extract from shiitake mushrooms, which has been lodged by Danish firm GlycaNova.

Lentinan is a form of beta-glucan believed to have strong effects on the immune system (see Pentagon’s Immune Booster​

Any comments on this application should be emailed to the secretariat of the UK Advisory Committee for Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) by July 23.

Comments received on the application will be discussed at the next ACNFP meeting on July 24.