Saskatchewan berry producers are hoping their new dried fruit will whet the appetite of health conscious consumers in 2007.
Sandy Purdy, a saskatoon producer since 1993 and owner of Prairie Berries at Kehler, Sask., said testing that is now being conducted on the shelf life of dry packaged saskatoons is expected to be complete by April.
That is necessary to satisfy the demands of most retailers, who want products that can store for up to 18 months, she added.
Purdy, who oversees marketing for the berry grower consortium Saskatoon Berry Partners Inc., wants to tap markets for health beverages, snack foods and tourism products.
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She wants to build on current markets for fresh and frozen berries and berry jam and jellies. The dried saskatoons could be used in food such as bagels and snack bars.
“For us, it’s a case of looking at other alternatives to create new markets for saskatoon berries,” said Purdy.
She worked with the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre in Saskatoon to perfect the drying process and investigate shelf life, packaging options, consumer feedback and marketplace stability.
Purdy said drying saskatoons is difficult because they contain seeds and have thicker skins than cranberries, which have enjoyed good success in recent years as a dried snack food.
Purdy received funding from the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Saskatchewan program to cover half the cost of developing the product in 2005.
She said a number of growers in Western Canada could supply the new market for dry fruit, including more than a dozen primary and secondary processors in Saskatchewan.
Distance and geographical barriers make it difficult to ship berries to processors that are inspected or certified for export, Purdy added.
In Alberta, growers are test marketing saskatoon concentrate in Taiwan, where a health conscious population has become aware of the antioxidant qualities of the prairie berries.
