Acai Berry

Acai berry is highly volatile and would go rancid within a day of being picked. This is because acai berry is 50% fat and due to high fat content it could go rancid very quickly. Because of this, it is not possible to transport this fruit fresh for export to other countries as the fruits would go bad before it reaches its destination.

The best option in transporting acai berry is to freeze dry the fruit. Freeze dried acai berry is far more better than acai products that are spray dried or frozen because spray dried products undergoes a heat process which reduces its nutritional potency.

On top of that, prolong freezing could also deteriorate the nutritional potency of food.  But in freeze drying or lyophilization, the product undergoes the sublimation process, removing water as vapor from ice, further requiring reduction of pressure.

However, there are some differences in the process when it comes to freeze drying of acai berry. One is that acai berry freeze drying does not require heat in the sublimation process.  On top of that, it is mixed with maltodextrin in order to stabilize the product.  Freeze drying contained the fruit nutrients while the fruit is still in the rainforest and the whole process should be done within 24 hours from the time of harvest.

Freeze dried acai maintains all the nutrient and health benefits of a fresh acai. In fact, an ounce for ounce freezing of dried acai creates a much higher concentration of nutrients that the fresh acai.   Basing on ORAC result, 100 grams of fresh acai have an equivalent 5,500 antioxidant rating score while the freeze dried acai  have a score of over 70,000 antioxidant rating.