In an attempt to showcase the benefits – and product versatility – of Cran Naturelle cranberry seed powder, Fruit d’Or has collaborated with Sunny Crunch Foods to produce the industry’s first cranberry-probiotic nutrition bar, Pro Cran.
The bar features Cran Naturelle blended with protein, prebiotics and probiotics for digestive health and overall well-being, “which literally raises the bar for cranberry beyond UTI,” said Stephen Lukawski, director of global sales and development for Fruit d’Or.
The Pro Cran probiotic bar was developed as a prototype to showcase the benefits of using Fruit d’Or’s cranberry seed powder in the food industry. Bars remain a top choice for healthy foods on the go.
The cranberry seed contains a potent oil that is cold-pressed; the ‘leftover’ seed meal is then dried and milled under a proprietary process to maintain the integrity of the cranberry seed with no degradation, Lukawski explained. “After conducting a finger print analysis we were able to determine that the cranberry seed is rich in fibre and contains at least 20% protein. What makes the tasty Pro Cran bar novel is that the prebiotic in the bar is derived from the cranberry seed and the probiotic is a strain called Bacillus coagulans; the cranberry seed powder and Bacillus coagulans is currently marketed as an ingredient called Lacto Cran.”
Lukawski reports that in a probiotic study by Sabinsa Corp. (East Windsor, NJ and Payson, UT) Cran Naturelle cranberry seed powder — developed exclusively for food and beverage applications – was compared against FOS (fructooligosaccharides) and inulin. Test results demonstrated that the cranberry seed generated 200% more activity growth for the BC strain over FOS or inulin.
“The cranberry seed acts as a nutritious food for the probiotic strain. It’s most likely that the cranberry seed provides a carbon and nitrogen source that fuels the growth of the strain. In addition the cranberry seed contains other important attributes such as 16 essential amino acids, fatty acids and at least 2% PAC content.”
Lukawski notes that he used the Bacillus strain from Sabinsa because of its ability to ensure the cultures survive the baking temperatures needed to produce the Pro Cran bar. “As a result the cultures remain stable and active through to the last bite.”
Each Pro Cran bar delivers 2 billion CFU probiotic cultures, contains 4g of cranberry seed powder and 12 grams of protein. Enjoying two bars daily provides a good source of fibre and protein. The Pro Cran bar is coated in vanilla yogurt and is low in calories and sugar.
Pro Cran was conceived and developed by Lukawski, who has a lengthy list of unique nutra-foods to his credit, including: antioxidant-rich pretzels, pizza flour and bread; omega 3, 6, 9 pretzels, cranberry protein pretzels, grape skin pretzels and bread, chia fibre pretzels and bread, cranberry protein and fiber bread, cranberry pizza flour, chia seed pizza flour, probiotic/vitamin C/cranberry gum for oral health, PS and cranberry cognitive health bar, and more.
“The philosophy of Pro Cran is very simple: people prefer foods to pills in order to obtain nutraceutical benefits,” Lukawski comments. “Foods that are tasty, convenient, portable and that provide the specific sought-after health benefits will have sustained high sales velocity.”
Pro Cran is produced by Sunny Crunch Foods Ltd., a certified-organic leading Canadian specialist in private label manufacturing of nutrition bars and granolas. Pro Cran cranberry-probiotic bar is available for private label and is ready to be marketed to the retail industry.
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