Anthocyanins are polyphenols. They are good for the human health (antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects), although they are not totally assimilated through the human metabolism. But they are helpful, and we need them. Anthocyanins are found in plants – they are responsible for a deep purple colour and have an astringent effect, like in grapes, cranberries, red
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday on 21st April – the kind of event which normally has nothing to do with blackcurrants. But this time time, it’s different: a Scottish chocolatier was asked to create chocolates for a limited-edition release of 90 commemorative boxes, sold in Selfridges, London, on her birthday. And he chose blackcurrants as
A blackcurrant demo farm, demo trials, the presentation of latest sustainable crop protection solutions by Bayer advisors to the Polish blackcurrant growers, practical tests in leading farms, and regular exchange of information – these were the keys to success in the newly established partnership between the Polish blackcurrant association KSPCP and Bayer Crop Science. The collaboration has started in 2014 at the
A campaign to promote blackcurrants – this kind of initiative had already been taken by the French association of blackcurrant producers (ANCG) in 2009, and another one has been ongoing in the UK for several years now: www.blackcurrantfoundation.co.uk and www.britishsummerfruits.co.uk. The goal is of course to try and drive demand for blackcurrants by bringing its wonderful taste, various uses
The blackcurrant harvest has now been completed in New Zealand – and this is how the season 2015/16 ends for the blackcurrant growers worldwide. While growers in Europe are now harvesting buds or preparing for a new fruit harvest season and new chances, 2015 had brought a great deal of frustration and has left a bitter
The 5th International Blackcurrant Conference in Ashford, Kent, is launching a competition for blackcurrant products in three categories: drinks, food products and functional food. Through peer evaluation and an expert panel, the Blackcurrant product of 2016 will be elected. You have an interesting product to present? Register now! Or maybe you know someone who might have an interesting
Predictions are always difficult, especially when they deal about the future. Luckily, I have a crystal ball which shows the future (it is a very interesting and powerful tool, only presidents can borrow it). Working with it is not easy, because it shows blurred pictures. But there are future trends which are not surprising: for example that we
There is enormous health potential in our superfruit: the blackcurrant. Stress hero is how it can be defined generally. Therefore, the motto of the last European Blackcurrant conference in Vilnius in 2015 has been “Blackcurrant – the stress hero”. And not surprisingly, the emphasis of the next International Blackcurrant Conference in Ashford will also be
Conference presentations online again! After a few weeks of transition and development of this section, the IBA web-library is now once again fully available for our members! We have collected the presentations of our annual conferences over the past few years. Therefore, your can view whatever information we have got from the researchers, marketers and
More than 1.3 billion inhabitants – all likely to use any kind of product made of blackcurrants! China, the second biggest economic power of the world, has become a major export market for many countries and all sorts of products. Even if its economic growth has started slowing down over the past five years: let’s
We have to tell it to the whole world: blackcurrant is the best berry for life! And what a better way is there to get the message to millions of people all over the world than through facebook? There are almost 1.5 billion community members worldwide, and you may all join the blackcurrant community, using
IBA conference 2015 in Vilnius The newly created Lithuanian blackcurrant association hosted the International Blackcurrant Association European conference in June this year in Vilnius, under the motto “Blackcurrant – the stress hero”. 70 delegates from almost 20 different countries enjoyed extremely interesting presentations and discovered blackcurrant farming and processing in Lithuania. Many thanks to the Lithuanian team for
