The latest crop has entered the fresh market in Australia and Asia, with customers able to purchase from Woolworths on the East Coast, and some high-end fruit and vegetable retailers in Brisbane for the next 6-8 weeks. The Goodrich Farm Company, which grows the plum, is hoping to produce between 2500 and 3000 tonnes in the next two to three years. There are also growers established in Victoria, and planting materials have been distributed to Spain, the United States, South Africa and New Zealand, ready for a worldwide explosion in popularity in an industry worth tens of billions annually.
The plum variety contains levels of antioxidants and in particular anthocyanins – said to inhibit cancer and reverse or prevent many of the health consequences associated with obesity. “People are selling, for example, high antioxidant citrus. It is high in antioxidants compared to other varieties of citrus, but it’s got nothing on the QG plum. Relative to other citrus these are good, but relative to this, they’re nowhere,” says Rowan Berecry, of Goodrich Fruit, the company which started growing the plums and whose owner, Bim Goodrich, is one of the members of the Nutrafruit partnership.
Ordinarily these levels of antioxidants, five to ten times higher than in other plum varieties, and higher than in most berries, is only found in berries that are considered inedible, but the QG plum tastes ‘sweet’ according to those who have tried it and given feedback. “Woolworths wanted the QG plum because it is something different. They’re selling some of it for less than what they paid us for it,” notes Mr Berecry.
The high anthocyanin level is currently undergoing trials in studies with obese rats, and results are promising for everything from lowering blood pressure to easing liver damage, encouraging healthy cell growth and controlling blood sugar. “The rat trials have excited a lot of people,” says Mr Berecry. “It’s still in very early days, but Wollongong University is doing work on human trials.”
To maintain the integrity of the fruit, and appeal to the health conscious consumer, Goodrich Fruit is growing the QG plum virtually chemical freel “The only insecticide we’re using is bait for the Queensland fruit fly,” adds Mr Berecry.
The ‘QG’ plum variety was discovered after ‘umpteen thousand crosses’ were tried and one produced a sweet tasting plum with the desired characteristics in 2004. Funnily enough, the growers were not yet looking to produce a superfruit, but decided to investigate a plum with a particularly dark inside and discover what it had to offer.
For more information
Rowan Berecry
Good Rich Fruit Company
Phone: +61418216889