The government in the Australian state of Queensland has partnered with local company Nutrafruit to commercialise a new variety of antioxidant-rich plum.
The Queen Garnet plum will be grown for both the fresh market and for processing, reported Queensland Country Life, in a joint effort by Nutrafruit and Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries (QDPI).
Research suggests anthocyanin, the antioxidant which gives the variety its rich red colouring, reduced the risks of certain types of cancer.
“Researchers have determined that one glass of Queen Garnet plum juice contains as much antioxidants as drinking two small glasses of red wine, six cups of tea or 12 glasses of orange juice,” said Tim Mulherin, Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland.
“Anthocyanin levels are two to five times higher in Queen Garnet than other red-flesh plums, and between 10 and 30 times higher than in yellow plums. The compounds have been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth in several studies overseas.”
The new plum is being aimed at the fresh market, but significant effort is also being put behind processed products using the fruit, such as juice and dietary supplements.
“We are looking at processing the plum as a high-antioxidant ingredient for health drinks and related products, and as other nutraceuticals, such as vitamin tablets,” Nutrafruit director Hugh Macintosh told Country Life.
“Because the fresh plum is currently only available for about one month on the market, processing it into a range of health products would allow a year-round supply. It also opens up export options to markets, which currently have trade restrictions on stone fruit, but not on processed products.”
Nutrafruit is owned by Australian company Tropico Fruit, which specialises in fruit purees and juices.
Queen Garnet, which was developed by Queensland’s Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), is a large plum which ripens between two of the other main Australian red plum varieties, Ruby Blood and Satsuma.
DEEDI is developing a range of other high-antioxidant plum varieties, according to principal experimentalist Dougal Russell.
“Our breeding program here in Queensland is in a selection phase where we are identifying other new high-anthocyanin plums,” he said.
“The aim is to increase the harvest window by developing a suite of high-antioxidant fresh-market and processing plum varieties that ripen from December through to March.”
Small volumes of the new variety will hit the Australian domestic fresh fruit market in 2011. Tree numbers are expected to hit around 90,000 next year.
Nutrafruit is currently negotiation with companies in South Africa, New Zealand, France and the US interested in producing Queen Garnet for the fresh market, and with growers in Spain for the processing market.
