Vital Vegetables is a new range of vegetables launched in 2012 that has naturally high levels of nutrients. It is the result of a 10 year research and development project between science and marketing companies in both NZ and Australia.
All vegetables are good for us, containing various vitamins and minerals to support our health. However, not all vegetables produce the same mixture of nutrients or at the same levels. It’s generally accepted that there can be vast differences between the salads, carrots, or broccoli we buy at different times of the year or in different places.
Vegetables that contain higher levels of these nutrients can help us to reach our recommended daily intakes for these nutrients more easily. The trick is knowing which nutrients are linked to which aspect of health and which vegetables these nutrients are found in; finding the individual cultivar in a collection that has naturally higher levels than all the others; growing it so we optimise the levels of these nutrients; and packaging and storing it in such a way we maintain these levels right through to the consumer.
Scientists at Plant & Food Research in New Zealand and the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria in Australia have spent ten years investigating these questions, resulting in the development of Vital Vegetables.
The products contain naturally high levels of nutrients known to be good for health, and each serve contains at least 25% of the suggested daily intake of antioxidants. These are tested and monitored to ensure these levels are maintained until they reach the plate.
The ten year collaborative science project investigated the nutrients in vegetables that are good for health – these include carotenoids, vitamin C and K, fibre, flavonoids and glucosinolates. They then selected cultivars that have naturally high levels of these nutrients and grew them on.
Choosing the right growers was also important. They needed to be in the right location to make sure the vegetables would have the best environment to produce the nutrients good for health.
Different cultivars are grown depending on the season to ensure the maximum levels of nutrients are available year round.
Once a plant is harvested, it starts to lose some of its freshness. However, the right combination of temperature and humidity can slow down the rate at which a vegetable loses its goodness.
Post-harvest, vegetables need to be handled properly and kept under specific conditions throughout distribution to maintain peak freshness. The vegetables are pre-packaged so they also wanted to make sure they were using the right packaging techniques to keep vegetables fresh and nutrient rich for longer.
Vital Vegetables are packed in bags which are specifically designed to maintain a suitable environment for each product mix. Once the bag is opened, the environment inside the bag is lost and the vegetables will begin to lose some of their goodness.
Knowing the best way to keep vegetables fresh is important in maintaining levels of the nutrients they are known for. Keeping vegetables too warm or allowing them to wilt will mean these nutrients start to break down and the natural benefits in the vegetables are reduced.
Jocelyn Eason, GM of Science, Food Innovation at Plant and Food Research says that vegetables might look and taste quite similar but the nutrient content can vary quite a bit. She says nutrient content depends on the genetics of the vegetable as well as how they are grown and stored. Jocelyn says there’s an ideal time to harvest vegetables when they are in their best state and then there’s a range of post-harvest treatments and packaging technologies that need to be investigated to maintain the freshness and nutrient content.
Vital Vegetables began as a trans-Tasman science collaboration between Plant and Food Research and Dept of Primary Industries (Aus). The first five years of the ten year project was about understanding the science and production of the vegetables, selecting the cultivars and the selection of seeds, how to produce them and where to produce them. They also needed to know what health claims could be directly linked to the nutrients present in a single serving for the consumer.
The second five years of the project had a greater focus on the commercialisation of high nutrient health-benefit labeled vegetables and understanding what the consumer wants and needs.
Ashley Berrysmith from Snap Fresh Foods started growing bean sprouts in buckets in the 1980’s. His company is a supplier to NZ’s major supermarket chains. Ashley won the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.
The company is now known as Snap Fresh Foods. The business has 150 staff and around 260 ha of land around Auckland, Rangiriri (Waikato) and Nelson. They are growers, packagers and processors of Vital Vegetables.