Cranberry Tackles Probiotic Bar and Juice Powders in New Launches

Photo © iStockphoto.com/nsilcock

Ingredients supplier Fruit d’Or Nutraceuticals (Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, QC, Canada) is continuing its mission to bring cranberry to a variety of markets with two new launches: a nutrition bar that combines cranberry with probiotics and a cranberry juice powder produced through infrared drying.

Pro Cran

The new cranberry and probiotic nutrition bar, Pro Cran, is a prototype that comes as the result of collaboration between Fruit d’Or and Sunny Crunch Foods (Markham, ON, Canada). It combines Fruit d’Or’s Cran Naturelle cranberry seed powder with 12 g of protein, prebiotics, and probiotics for “digestive health and overall well-being,” says Fruit d’Or.

The prebiotic used in Pro Cran is also derived from cranberry seed and has been studied in combination with the probiotic used in the bar, a strain of Bacillus coagulans supplied by Sabinsa Crop. (East Windsor, NJ). According to Stephen Lukawski, director of global sales and development, Fruit d’Or, study results have shown that the cranberry seed generated up to 200% more activity growth for the probiotic strain than inulin or fructooligosaccharides-other common prebiotics. The prebiotic cranberry seed powder and Bacillus coagulans strain are also being marketed together as the ingredient Lacto Cran.

The Pro Cran bar is coated in vanilla sugar, available for private label, and ready to be marketed to the retail industry, says Fruit d’Or.

Cranberry Juice Powders

Fruit d’Or has also rolled out new cranberry juice powders that it says are produced through a new infrared drying process, rather than the spray-drying process used for many cranberry juice powders. The infrared drying process uses a lower temperature to “limit the degradation of the integrity of the cranberry juice concentrate,” says Fruit d’Or.

“Most cranberry juice powders are hydroscopic as they are sticky and clump together, making it difficult to work with,” says Lukawski. “Our organic cranberry juice powders have a better taste profile, richer color, and more attractive flowability and dispersion that makes it much easier for supplement and beverage manufacturers to use.”

The new organic juice powders are appropriate for both the beverage and dietary supplement markets, according to Fruit d’Or.

New Dossier

Additionally, Fruit d’Or recently released a scientific dossier that is meant to “help debunk the junk in the cranberry industry and set higher quality standards for both cranberry ingredients and cranberry products,” says Lukawski.

The dossier covers the history of cranberry and explores the latest research into uses for cranberry besides fighting urinary tract infections, including oral care, gut health, cardiovascular health, prostate health, and skin care. It also describes new testing methods and references standards for measuring the potency of proanthocyanidins (PAC) present in cranberries.

Read more:

MALDI-TOF Test Method Enhances Cranberry Authentication, Fruit d’Or Says

New Frontiers for Cranberry

Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com