African Baobab Fruit Gets European Commission Approval

The fruit pulp of the African baobab tree has been earmarked as the latest nutritious and exotic ingredient to hit supermarket shelves across Europe, following ’Novel Foods’ approval by the European Commission, officials confirmed Tuesday in London.

PhytoTrade Africa, a trade organization that promotes fair and ethical trade, and represents tens of thousands of rural sub-Saharan African producers, brought the application in 2006 and now predicts a surge in demand for the ingredient.

“Baobab fruit pulp is a new exciting ingredient for the nutriceutical industry which can be used in various applications including health bars and health drinks” said Billy Smith, Marketing Manager for Afriplex.

‘It has excellent nutritional benefits for the consumers, offering manufacturers a new opportunity to target the growing market for healthy, natural and Fair Trade foods, while being an easy, adaptable and cost effective ingredient to work with’.

The iconic baobab – commonly known as the “upside down tree” and familiar to anyone who has watched an African wildlife documentary - is a common feature of the landscape in sub-Saharan Africa.

Its fruit has been shown to have an exceptionally high vitamin C content, up to three times that of oranges; only 10 grams can supply a quarter of the recommended daily vitamin C intake.

Baobab is also high in anti-oxidants (over 10 times the level of oranges), natural fiber (pectins) and is an excellent source of calcium and iron.

Africans call baobab “the tree of life” and have long used its fruit pulp to make refreshing drinks and as a baking ingredient.

It is also a traditional food for pregnant women and children due to its high calcium content.

Following Novel Foods approval, PhytoTrade Africa will be focusing resources on supporting the development of the supply chain and production capacity to meet European industry demand.

“Afriplex, the technical and marketing arm of Phytotrade is proud to be associated with this new development which assists in the upliftment of communities where it is most needed,” commented Billy Smith.

A recent report by Ben Bennett of the UK’s Natural Resources Institute found that sustainable wild harvesting of baobab fruit could generate trade worth up to US$1 billion a year for African producers.

“We have already received numerous inquiries from major European food companies who are working together with Afriplex in developing new innovative products for the European markets” added Billy.

Source African Press Agency

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