Table of Contents

Saskatoon berries 7

Haskaps 9

Aronia 10

Blackcurrants 12

Freeze-dried smoothie 14

HACCP Plan 14

Saskatoon berry Smoothie 22

Aronia Smoothie 25

Blackcurrant Smoothie 28

Three-Berry Smoothie (uses saskatoon berries, aronia and blackcurrant) 31

Consumer Report for Smoothies 34

Conclusion/Recommendations 38

References 38

Introduction

This following report discusses the food production methods and considers the appropriate protocols, in conjunction to the development of product prototypes utilizing dark fruit ingredients.

Firstly, the report considers the preparatory method of freeze-dried fruit and provides a breakdown to how this may be carried out.

Secondly, utilizing some of these berries, a value-added product has been developed. This is a freeze-dried smoothie blend. For this product, a comprehensive consumer evaluation report is also provided.

Freeze-dried fruit

HACCP Plan

The following HACCP plan applies to all berries which were trialed for freeze-drying (Saskatoon berries, haskaps, aronia and blackcurrants).

Diagram

Description automatically generated

(1) Ingredient/ Processing Step	(2) Identify potential food safety hazards introduced, controlled or enhanced at this step		(3) Do any potential food safety hazards require a preventive control?		(4) Justify your decision for column 3	(5) What preventive control measure(s) can be applied to significantly minimize or prevent the food safety hazard? Process including CCPs, Allergen, Sanitation, Supply-chain, other preventive control	(6) Is the preventive control applied at this step?
(1) Ingredient/ Processing Step			Yes	No	(4) Justify your decision for column 3		Yes	No
Receiving and storage of fruit	B	Yeast and mold from fruit E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. Norovirus, Hep A, Cyclospora/ herbicide, allergens	X		Primarily, the frozen fruit is subjected to high level of dirt and spoilage organism (these are not classified as food pathogens). However, laboratory studies have shown that berry juices and purees can support growth of E. coli and Salmonella spp. (Bower, Stan et al. 2003).	Subsequent steps will eliminate any form of microbiological, chemical and physical hazard. Supply chain control – Good Agricultural Practices are obeyed by the research center providing the fruit.		X
	C	Pesticide residue from fruit	X		Pesticide-used on fruit can cause chemical residue to remain on produce.	Supply chain control - the fruit is received from a research center where the herbicide/pesticide application and withdrawal time is strictly obeyed in line to the local, state and federal level. Subsequent step of rinsing will further eliminate any potential chemical risks.		X
	P	Dust, sand, dirt	X		Any dropped fruit can be subjected to contamination.	Supply chain control - research center follows a strict sanitation protocol. Subsequent step of rinsing will further eliminate any potential physical risks		X
Rinsing	B	Yeast and mold from fruit E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.	X		Regional-specific data (for Northwest berry growers) has identified that most microbial contamination occurs on surface of fresh produce – hence it necessitates a washing step to reduce likelihood of food-borne illness (Bower, Stan et al. 2003).	Wash the fruit in 200 ppm chlorinated bleach solution to remove high levels of dirt and spoilage organism and reduce the pathogens E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella. Supply chain control – For the chlorine bleach used for washing the berries, it is ensured the supplier used is compliant to GMP and provides CoAs and MSDSs. Water quality programme assures potable water is tested once a year.	X
	C	None
	P	None
Place fruit in freeze dryer trays	B	None			SSOPs followed: the processing facility ensures workers follow strict hygiene protocols.
	C	None
	P	None
Freeze-drying	B	Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp.	X		Previous steps of rinsing minimize risk of biological hazard, owing to yeast and mold, however a low moisture content will prevent the growth of any undesirable microorganisms.	Process control –ensuring aw<0.60, will ensures no microbial proliferation (TCS) (Meter Food 2017)	X
	C
	P
Packing	B	None			SSOPs followed: the processing facility ensures workers follow strict hygiene protocols.
	C	None
	P	None

CCP Table
Process Control Step	Hazard(s)	Critical Limits	Monitoring				Corrective Action	Verification	Records
Process Control Step	Hazard(s)	Critical Limits	What	How	Frequency	Who	Corrective Action	Verification	Records
Rinsing with chlorinated bleach water	Biological: Yeast and mold from fruit E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. Norovirus, Hep A, Cyclospora/herbicide, allergens	Minimum contact time of 3 minutes required between product and 200 ppm chlorine solution.	Monitoring the rinsing of fruit	Ensure the ppm is correct, and sufficient contact time is implemented.	Every batch of fruit washed	QA Technician	Hold product back to the last good check and evaluate – rework, discard, or release. Determine the root cause – retrain operators, or correct as appropriate	Weekly checking of the Production Record Sheet by an individual from the company who did not produce any of the Production Record Sheets. Audits must be performed to verify sampling techniques and accuracy.	Line supervisor to fill in the record sheet stating the ppm and pH of solution and contact time.
CCP Table
Process Control Step	Hazard(s)	Critical Limits	Monitoring	Corrective Action	Verification	Records	Process Control Step	Hazard(s)	Critical Limits
Freeze-drying fruit	Biological: contaminant from water used	Yeast, mold E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. aw: <0.60	Assess the water activity and (aw should be <0.60) (Meter Food 2017) aw to be measured of freeze-dried fruit (once, pulverized)	Use a water activity meter	Every batch freeze-dried	QA Technician	Hold product back to the last good check and evaluate – rework, discard, or release. Determine the root cause – retrain operators, or correct as appropriate	Weekly checking of the Production Record Sheet by an individual from the company who did not produce any of the Production Record Sheets. Audits must be performed to verify sampling techniques and accuracy. Routinely (every 3 months) send a sample to a 3rd party micro-laboratory to verify food safety of freeze-dried good.	Line supervisor to fill in the record sheet stating the water activity of the final product.

Saskatoon berries

Ingredient list

100% freeze-dried Saskatoon berries

Recipe formulation and process control

Clean berries in a 200-ppm chlorinated solution (serves as primary CCP). The chlorine water must be verified by chlorine strips to indicate 200ppm and the pH meter must read between 6.6-7.5. The contact time of the berries in the chlorine bath should be at least 3 minutes.
Place berries on the freeze dryer tray in a single layer (around 1.8 pounds per tray).
Place in freeze dryer (will take roughly 25 hours to dry for a full load of 9 pounds of berries).
Once freeze dried, place berries in Mylar pouches and heat-seal these. Any berries which are not freeze dried can be stored in plastic bags which can be vacuum packaged and stored in freezer.

9 pounds of fresh Saskatoon berries gave 1.78 pound of freeze-dried Saskatoon berries.

Approximate yield: 20%

Water activity of freeze-dried Saskatoon berries:

0.27±0.01 at 22.7°C

Nutritional data

Source: https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/SSU/TC-SSU-02112008164628.pdf

Per 100g	Saskatoons
Energy (kcal)	84.84
Protein (g)	1.33
Carbohydrate (g)	18.49
Total Lipid (g)	0.49
Total Fiber (g)	5.93
Vitamin C (mg)	3.55
Iron (mg)	0.96
Potassium (mg)	162.12
Vitamin A (IU)	35.68

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

Label as freeze-dried Saskatoon berries

https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/cpg-sec-562450-identity-foods-use-terms-such-fresh-frozen-dried-canned-etc

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Place freeze-dried berries in Mylar pouches, heat seal the bags with an impulse sealer and store in ambient conditions. A packaged oxygen absorber can also be placed to remove the likelihood of oxygen within a sealed environment that might oxidize/deteriorate the samples.

Costing

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	2.5	25
Arranging product for freeze-drying	1	10
Packing	2	20

Recommendations

One application recommendation to this product may be to use whole freeze-dried Saskatoon berries in bakery products/breads.

Haskaps

Ingredient list

100% freeze-dried haskaps

Recipe formulation and process control

Clean berries in a 200-ppm chlorinated solution (serves as primary CCP). The chlorine water must be verified by chlorine strips to indicate 200ppm and the pH meter must read between 6.6-7.5. The contact time of the berries in the chlorine bath should be at least 3 minutes.

Place berries on the freeze dryer tray in a single layer (around 2.4 pounds per tray).

Place in freeze dryer (will take roughly 45 hours to dry for a full load of 12 pounds of berries).

Once freeze dried, place berries in Mylar pouches and heat-seal these. Any berries which are not freeze dried can be stored in plastic bags which can be vacuum packaged and stored in freezer.

Water activity of freeze-dried haskaps:

0.34±0.02 at 22.3°C

12 pounds of fresh haskaps gave 2.14 pound of freeze-dried haskaps.

Approximate yield: 18%

Nutritional data

Source: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yEMPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA279&dq=haskap+borealis+nutrition+data+protein&ots=dUQiZ2IjHK&sig=wzzBilB3o3djpSW_Jx2nNjq05P4#v=onepage&q&f=false

Per 100g	Haskaps
Energy (kcal)	50
Protein (g)	2.13
Carbohydrate (g)	10.2-15.6
Total Fat (g)	2.2-4.8
Total Fiber (g)	8.34
Vitamin C (mg)	4.86-186.6
Iron (mg)	2.91
Potassium (mg)	1017.5-1476.4
Calcium (mg)	42.6-167.5

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

Label as freeze-dried haskaps

https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/cpg-sec-562450-identity-foods-use-terms-such-fresh-frozen-dried-canned-etc

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Costing

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	3.5	35
Arranging product for freeze-drying	1	10
Packing	2	20

Recommendations

When cleaning the berries, it was observed that all the juice leaches out of the haskaps when dunked in the cleaning tank (owing to the fragile skin of this berry type). A better approach will be to place berries in a mesh/colander and gently dip this in the chlorine bath.
Also, freeze-drying may not be best suited for haskaps, considering the fragility of the fruit and the large loss of fruit juice. Consequently, juicing the haskaps and pasteurizing the juice to ensure food-safety may be a more suited alternative. Filtering of juice can be applied to remove unwanted stems/leaves that could be present in the produce.

Aronia

Ingredient list

100% freeze-dried aronia

Recipe formulation and process control

Clean berries in a 200-ppm chlorinated solution (serves as primary CCP). The chlorine water must be verified by chlorine strips to indicate 200ppm and the pH meter must read between 6.6-7.5. The contact time of the berries in the chlorine bath should be at least 3 minutes.

Place berries on the freeze dryer tray in a single layer (around 1.7 pounds per tray). Place trays in a freezer for an hour to allow berries to regain frozen state.

Place in freeze dryer (will take roughly 25 hours to dry for a full load of 8.38 pounds of berries).

Note: By pre-freezing the berries, prior to freeze-drying, this leads to a shorter time for freeze-drying.

Once freeze dried, place berries in Mylar pouches and heat-seal these. Any berries which are not freeze dried can be stored in plastic bags which can be vacuum packaged and stored in freezer.

Water activity of freeze-dried aronia:

0.32±0.01 at 23.1°C

8.38 pounds of fresh haskaps gave 2.32 pound of freeze-dried haskaps.

Approximate yield: 28%

Nutritional data

Source: https://issuu.com/milnefruit/docs/mfp_aronia_white_paper1509f

Per 100g	Aronia
Energy (kcal)	84
Protein (g)	1.4
Carbohydrate (g)	19
Total Fat (g)	0.13
Total Fiber (g)	4
Vitamin C (mg)	0.8
Vitamin A (IU)	900
Iron (mg)	1
Potassium (mg)	269
Calcium (mg)	22

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

Label as freeze-dried aronia berries

https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/cpg-sec-562450-identity-foods-use-terms-such-fresh-frozen-dried-canned-etc

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Costing

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	2.5	25
Arranging product for freeze-drying	1	10
Packing	2	20

Recommendations

One application recommendation to this product may be to pulverize the freeze dried aronia berries into a powder and use it as a coloring agent. Or can also use whole fruit pieces in bread loaves.

Blackcurrants

Ingredient list

100% freeze-dried blackcurrants

Recipe formulation and process control

Clean berries in a 200-ppm chlorinated solution (serves as primary CCP). The chlorine water must be verified by chlorine strips to indicate 200ppm and the pH meter must read between 6.6-7.5. The contact time of the berries in the chlorine bath should be at least 3 minutes.

Place berries on the freeze dryer tray in a single layer (around 1.7 pounds per tray). Place trays in a freezer for an hour to allow berries to regain frozen state.

Place in freeze dryer (will take roughly 22 hours to dry for a full load of 8.50 pounds of berries).

Note: By pre-freezing the berries, prior to freeze-drying, this leads to a shorter time for freeze-drying.

Once freeze dried, place berries in Mylar pouches and heat-seal these. Any berries which are not freeze dried can be stored in plastic bags which can be vacuum packaged and stored in freezer.

Water activity of freeze-dried aronia:

0.36±0.01 at 20.8°C

8.50 pounds of fresh aronia gave 2.10 pound of freeze-dried aronia.

Approximate yield: 28%

Nutritional data

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173963/nutrients

Per 100g	Aronia
Energy (kcal)	63
Protein (g)	1.4
Carbohydrate (g)	15.38
Total Fat (g)	0.41
Total Fiber (g)	4.29
Vitamin C (mg)	181
Vitamin A (μg)	12
Iron (mg)	1.53
Potassium (mg)	322
Calcium (mg)	55

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

Label as freeze-dried blackcurrants

https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/cpg-sec-562450-identity-foods-use-terms-such-fresh-frozen-dried-canned-etc

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Costing

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing*	5	50
Arranging product for freeze-drying	1	10
Packing	2	20

*It took much longer to sort and rinse these, due to the large number of branches and stems within this berry type.

Recommendations

One application recommendation to this product may be to pulverize the freeze dried aronia berries into a powder and use it as a coloring agent. Or can also use whole fruit pieces in bread loaves.

Freeze-dried smoothie

Four variations were conducted for the freeze-dried smoothie. This includes the following types:

Saskatoon berries
Aronia
Blackcurrant
Mix of saskatoon berries, aronia and blackcurrant

HACCP Plan

The following HACCP plan applies to all smoothie which were trialed.

Diagram

Description automatically generated

(1) Ingredient/ Processing Step	(2) Identify potential food safety hazards introduced, controlled or enhanced at this step		(3) Do any potential food safety hazards require a preventive control?		(4) Justify your decision for column 3	(5) What preventive control measure(s) can be applied to significantly minimize or prevent the food safety hazard? Process including CCPs, Allergen, Sanitation, Supply-chain, other preventive control	(6) Is the preventive control applied at this step?
(1) Ingredient/ Processing Step			Yes	No	(4) Justify your decision for column 3		Yes	No
Receiving and storage of fruit	B	Yeast and mold from fruit E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. Norovirus, Hep A, Cyclospora/ herbicide, allergens	X		Primarily, the frozen fruit is subjected to high level of dirt and spoilage organism (these are not classified as food pathogens). However, laboratory studies have shown that berry juices and purees can support growth of E. coli and Salmonella spp. (Bower, Stan et al. 2003).	Subsequent steps will eliminate any form of microbiological, chemical and physical hazard. Supply chain control – Good Agricultural Practices are obeyed by the research center providing the fruit.		X
	C	Pesticide residue from fruit	X		Pesticide-used on fruit can cause chemical residue to remain on produce.	Supply chain control - the fruit is received from a research center where the herbicide/pesticide application and withdrawal time is strictly obeyed in line to the local, state and federal level. Subsequent step of rinsing will further eliminate any potential chemical risks.		X
	P	Dust, sand, dirt	X		Any dropped fruit can be subjected to contamination.	Supply chain control - research center follows a strict sanitation protocol. Subsequent step of rinsing will further eliminate any potential physical risks		X
Receiving and storage of powder, oil, salt and syrup (shelf-stable ingredients)	B	Undesirable microbiological growth (rodent, pest)		X	Historically, data shows oats, salt and hemp can have either salmonella, listeria, cronobacter, mold, lead and allergens.	Supply chain control - Suppliers will comply to GMP standards, providing all appropriate documentation (CoAs and specification sheets). Product will be inspected upon receiving, non-conforming goods will be rejected and not introduced on the line.	X
	C	None		X			X
	P	Debris		X			X
Receiving and storage of packaging	B	Undesirable microbiological growth		X		Supply chain control - Suppliers will comply to GMP standards, providing all appropriate documentation (CoAs and specification sheets). Product will be inspected upon receiving, non-conforming goods will be rejected and not introduced on the line.	X
	C	None		X			X
	P	Debris		X			X
Rinsing	B	Yeast and mold from fruit E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.	X		Regional-specific data (for Northwest berry growers) has identified that most microbial contamination occurs on surface of fresh produce – hence it necessitates a washing step to reduce likelihood of food-borne illness (Bower, Stan et al. 2003).	Wash the fruit in 200 ppm chlorinated bleach solution to remove high levels of dirt and spoilage organism and reduce the pathogens E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella. Supply chain control – For the chlorine bleach used for washing the berries, it is ensured the supplier used is compliant to GMP and provides CoAs and MSDSs. Water quality programme assures potable water is tested once a year.	X
	C	None
	P	None
Blending (hemp butter)	B	None
	C	None
	P	Metal contact with blender			Blender has metal-on-metal contact	Process Control – visual inspection of equipment prior to and after preparation.	X
Cooking oats	B	None
	C	None
	P	Metal contact with blender			Blender has metal-on-metal contact	Process Control – visual inspection of equipment prior to and after preparation.	X
Blending (smoothie)	B	Contaminants from water	X		Water used during blending to prepare smoothie is subjected to microbial contaminants.	Process control - Water used for blending will be correctly treated and filtered water.	X
	C	None
	P	Metal contact with blender			Blender has metal-on-metal contact	Process Control – visual inspection of equipment prior to and after preparation.	X
Pre-freezing	B	None
	C	None
	P	None
Freeze-drying	B	Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp.	X		Previous steps of rinsing minimize risk of biological hazard, owing to yeast and mold, however a low moisture content will prevent the growth of any undesirable microorganisms that may have arised as the consequence of introducing water and the moist sugary-smoothie mix	Process control – using hurdle technology and ensuring to freeze-dry to achieve aw<0.92 AND ensure pH of rehydrated smoothie is between 4.6-5.6. If both is achieved, product classifies as non-TCS food (does not requires time and temperature control for safety (TCS) (Meter Food 2017)	X
	C
	P
Pulverizing	B	None
	C	None
	P	Metal contact with blender			Blender has metal-on-metal contact	Process Control – visual inspection of equipment prior to and after preparation.	X
Packaging and labelling	B	None			SSOPs followed.
	C	None
	P	None
Storage	B	None			SSOPs followed.
	C	None
	P	None
Shipping/Distribution	B	None			SSOPs followed.
	C	None
	P	None

	CCP Table
Process Control Step	Hazard(s)	Critical Limits	Monitoring				Corrective Action	Verification	Records
Process Control Step	Hazard(s)	Critical Limits	What	How	Frequency	Who	Corrective Action	Verification	Records
Rinsing with chlorinated bleach water	Biological: Yeast and mold from fruit E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. Norovirus, Hep A, Cyclospora/ herbicide, allergens	Minimum contact time of 3 minutes required between product and 200 ppm chlorine solution.	Monitoring the rinsing of fruit	Ensure the ppm is correct, and sufficient contact time is implemented.	Every batch of fruit washed	QA Technician	Hold product back to the last good check and evaluate – rework, discard, or release. Determine the root cause – retrain operators, or correct as appropriate	Weekly checking of the Production Record Sheet by an individual from the company who did not produce any of the Production Record Sheets. Audits must be performed to verify sampling techniques and accuracy.	Line supervisor to fill in the record sheet stating the ppm and pH of solution and contact time.
Freeze-drying smoothie blend	Biological: contaminant from water used	Yeast, mold E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. aw: <0.92 and pH between 4.6 and 5.6 (Meter Food 2017)	Assess the water activity and (aw should be <0.92, pH is between 4.6 and 5.6) aw to be measured of powder. pH to be assessed of rehydrated solution.	Use a water activity and pH meter	Every batch freeze-dried	QA Technician	Hold product back to the last good check and evaluate – rework, discard, or release. Determine the root cause – retrain operators, or correct as appropriate	Weekly checking of the Production Record Sheet by an individual from the company who did not produce any of the Production Record Sheets. Audits must be performed to verify sampling techniques and accuracy. Routinely (every 3 months) send a sample to a 3rd party micro-laboratory to verify food safety of freeze-dried finished good.	Line supervisor to fill in the record sheet stating the water activity of the final product.

Saskatoon berry Smoothie

Ingredient list

Saskatoon berries, Cooked Oats, Hemp butter (Hemp hearts, Hemp Oil, Salt), Maple Syrup, Mint

Recipe formulation

Ingredient	%
Saskatoons	38.40%
Oats	3.60%
Hemp Hearts	8.96%
Hemp Oil	2.89%
Salt	0.14%
Mint	0.20%
Maple Syrup	3.00%
Water	42.80%
TOTAL	100%

Weigh all ingredients. Place berry in freezer till time required.
Make hemp butter: Combine required ingredients for hemp butter which includes hemp hearts, hemp oil and salt. Blend till a butter-like consistency is attained.
Make cooked oats: Boil 16.4% of the water in the formulation, add the cream of oats. Cook till temperature reaches 55C. This temperature is the starting gelatinization temperature of oats, and heating above this can result in extreme undesirable fisheye clump formation (Mavromichalis 2016).
Combine cooked oats, hemp butter, berries, mint, maple syrup and added water to form fresh smoothie.
Place smoothie in freeze dryer tray and keep in the freezer till frozen. Then, place in freeze dryer. By pre-freezing, it speeds up time spent in the freeze dryer.

Parameter	Values
Fresh smoothie pH	4.89
Water activity of freeze-dried smoothie powder	0.25±0.01 at 26.3°C
Reconstituted pH	5.10

900g of freeze-dried fresh smoothie yielded 250g of freeze-dried smoothie powder (Yield=28%).

Nutritional data

Shape

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

For dry beverage mixes, the nutrition facts label can be written in the sense that suggest the amount made as per the serving size declaration (E.g., for the above, serving size: each pouch makes 1 x 360 mL drink) https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Food-Labeling-Guide-%28PDF%29.pdf

The RACC for dry beverage mixes is 360 mL (https://www.fda.gov/media/102587/download)

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Place freeze-dried smoothie blend in a heat-sealed (and resealable) stand-up pouch and store under ambient conditions. A packaged oxygen absorber can also be placed to remove the likelihood of oxygen within a sealed environment that might oxidize/deteriorate the samples.

The product can be packaged in a Brown Pouch Resealable Ziplock Bags. This packaging is made of food safe material – composed of food grade log pure pulp and has a PET inner membrane. Internally, this has an aluminized film which blocks any UV rays and improves effect of oxygen and moisture barriers. The dimensions of the packet are: 4.3 x 7.3 inch. This is like the packaging sourced from Eco-Montana, should this packaging option be needed for future desires. The product will contain 54 g of serve, sufficient to make one full serving.

Product costing

Note: As this product has not yet been commercialized/processed on a large scale, the following reported costs are only a rough guide. Similar commercial products on the market tend to range between a price of $24.99 to 28.95 for a pack of 5 sachets (equivalent to 5 serves). This includes the Nutribullet Superfood Smoothie and Everripe Variety pack, respectively.

TOTAL RAW COST			$2.2291
LABOR**			$6.0000
PACKAGING / POUCH			$0.9600
PACKAGING / LABELS			$0.2000
PACKAGING / CASE			$0.4000
FLOOR RENT			$10.1000
FREEZE-DRYER RENT			$0.7600
FREIGHT			$2.0000
TOTAL COST PER POUND			$22.6491
TOTAL COST PER POUCH (54g, 0.12 lbs, 1 serve)			$2.7179

Can refer to Excel sheet attached – tab labelled ‘Saskatoon’ for full breakdown.

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	2.5	25
Process of making the product	2	20
Packing and labelling	2	20

Aronia Smoothie

Ingredient list

Aronia, Cooked Oats, Hemp butter (Hemp hearts, Hemp Oil, Salt), Maple Syrup, Mint

Recipe formulation

Ingredient	%
Aronia	36.80%
Oats	3.60%
Hemp Hearts	8.96%
Hemp Oil	2.89%
Salt	0.14%
Mint	0.20%
Maple Syrup	3.00%
Water	44.40%
TOTAL	100%

Weigh all ingredients. Place berry in freezer till time required.
Make hemp butter: Combine required ingredients for hemp butter which includes hemp hearts, hemp oil and salt. Blend till a butter-like consistency is attained.
Make cooked oats: Boil 16.4% of the water in the formulation, add the cream of oats. Cook till temperature reaches 55C. This temperature is the starting gelatinization temperature of oats, and heating above this can result in extreme undesirable fisheye clump formation (Mavromichalis 2016).
Combine cooked oats, hemp butter, berries, mint, maple syrup and added water to form fresh smoothie.
Place smoothie in freeze dryer tray and keep in the freezer till frozen. Then, place in freeze dryer. By pre-freezing, it speeds up time spent in the freeze dryer.

Parameter	Values
Fresh smoothie pH	4.52
Water activity of freeze-dried smoothie powder	0.21±0.01 at 25.1°C
Reconstituted pH	4.54

800g of freeze-dried fresh smoothie yielded 222g of freeze-dried smoothie powder (Yield=28%)

Nutritional data

Shape

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

The RACC for dry beverage mixes is 360 mL (https://www.fda.gov/media/102587/download)

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Product costing

TOTAL RAW COST			$3.2091
LABOR**			$6.0000
PACKAGING / POUCH			$0.9600
PACKAGING / LABELS			$0.2000
PACKAGING / CASE			$0.4000
FLOOR RENT			$10.1000
FREEZE-DRYER RENT			$0.7600
FREIGHT			$2.0000
TOTAL COST PER POUND			$23.6291
TOTAL COST PER POUCH (54g, 0.12 lbs, 1 serve)			$2.8355

Can refer to Excel sheet attached – tab labelled ‘Aronia’ for full breakdown.

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	2.5	25
Process of making the product	2	20
Packing and labelling	2	20

Blackcurrant Smoothie

Ingredient list

Blackcurrant, Cooked Oats, Hemp butter (Hemp hearts, Hemp Oil, Salt), Maple Syrup, Mint

Recipe formulation

Ingredient	%
Blackcurrants	40.00%
Oats	3.60%
Hemp Hearts	8.96%
Hemp Oil	2.89%
Salt	0.14%
Mint	0.20%
Maple Syrup	3.00%
Water	41.20%
TOTAL	100%

Weigh all ingredients. Place berry in freezer till time required.
Make hemp butter: Combine required ingredients for hemp butter which includes hemp hearts, hemp oil and salt. Blend till a butter-like consistency is attained.
Make cooked oats: Boil 16.4% of the water in the formulation, add the cream of oats. Cook till temperature reaches 55C. This temperature is the starting gelatinization temperature of oats, and heating above this can result in extreme undesirable fisheye clump formation (Mavromichalis 2016).
Combine cooked oats, hemp butter, berries, mint, maple syrup and added water to form fresh smoothie.
Place smoothie in freeze dryer tray and keep in the freezer till frozen. Then, place in freeze dryer. By pre-freezing, it speeds up time spent in the freeze dryer.

Parameter	Values
Fresh smoothie pH	3.76
Water activity of freeze-dried smoothie powder	0.23±0.01 at 25.4°C
Reconstituted pH	3.85

860g of freeze-dried fresh smoothie yielded 250g of freeze-dried smoothie powder (Yield=29%)

Nutritional data

Shape

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

The RACC for dry beverage mixes is 360 mL (https://www.fda.gov/media/102587/download)

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Product costing

TOTAL RAW COST			$2.4091
LABOR			$6.0000
PACKAGING / POUCH			$0.9600
PACKAGING / LABELS			$0.2000
PACKAGING / CASE			$0.4000
FLOOR RENT			$10.1000
FREEZE-DRYER RENT			$0.7600
FREIGHT			$2.0000
TOTAL COST PER POUND			$22.8291
TOTAL COST PER POUCH (54g, 0.12 lbs, 1 serve)			$2.7395

Can refer to Excel sheet attached – tab labelled ‘Blackcurrant’ for full breakdown.

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	5	50
Process of making the product	2	20
Packing and labelling	2	20

*It took much longer to sort and rinse these, due to the large number of branches and stems within this berry type.

Three-Berry Smoothie (uses saskatoon berries, aronia and blackcurrant)

Ingredient list

Blackcurrants, Saskatoon berries, Aronia, Cooked Oats, Hemp butter (Hemp hearts, Hemp Oil, Salt), Maple Syrup, Mint

Recipe formulation

Ingredient	%
Saskatoons	12.80%
Aronia	12.26%
Blackcurrant	13.33%
Oats	3.60%
Hemp Hearts	8.96%
Hemp Oil	2.89%
Salt	0.14%
Mint	0.20%
Maple Syrup	3.00%
Water	42.81%
TOTAL	100%

Weigh all ingredients. Place berries in freezer till time required.
Make hemp butter: Combine required ingredients for hemp butter which includes hemp hearts, hemp oil and salt. Blend till a butter-like consistency is attained.
Make cooked oats: Boil 16.4% of the water in the formulation, add the cream of oats. Cook till temperature reaches 55C. This temperature is the starting gelatinization temperature of oats, and heating above this can result in extreme undesirable fisheye clump formation (Mavromichalis 2016).
Combine cooked oats, hemp butter, berries, mint, maple syrup and added water to form fresh smoothie.
Place smoothie in freeze dryer tray and keep in the freezer till frozen. Then, place in freeze dryer. By pre-freezing, it speeds up time spent in the freeze dryer.

Parameter	Values
Fresh smoothie pH	4.53
Water activity of freeze-dried smoothie powder	0.27±0.03 at 24.9°C
Reconstituted pH	4.17

2620g of freeze-dried fresh smoothie yielded 667 of freeze-dried smoothie powder (Yield=25%).

Nutritional data

Shape

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Guidance on labeling requirements as per FDA regulations and guidelines

The RACC for dry beverage mixes is 360 mL (https://www.fda.gov/media/102587/download)

Packaging requirements or packaging best practices

Product costing

TOTAL RAW COST			$2.6152
LABOR**			$6.0000
PACKAGING / POUCH			$0.9600
PACKAGING / LABELS			$0.2000
PACKAGING / CASE			$0.4000
FLOOR RENT			$10.1000
FREEZE-DRYER RENT			$0.7600
FREIGHT			$2.0000
TOTAL COST PER POUND			$23.0352
TOTAL COST PER POUCH (54g, 0.12 lbs, 1 serve)			$2.7642

Can refer to Excel sheet attached – tab labelled ‘Triple Berry’ for full breakdown.

Labor

Process	Number of hours taken	Cost ($10/hour)
Sorting and rinsing	9	90
Process of making the product	2	20
Packing and labelling	2	20

*Accounting the rinsing and sorting of all different berry types, and cleaning process in between.

Consumer Report for Smoothies

Total number of participants: 42

Demographic table:

Gender	Man: 26.8% Woman: 73.2%
Age	18-24: 22% 25-34: 24.4% 35-44: 12.2% 45-54: 4.9% 55-64: 22% 65-74: 12.2% 75-44: 2.4%
Ethnicity	White/Caucasian: 90.2% American Indian/Alaska Native: 2.4% Asian: 4.9% Hispanic/Latino: 2.4%
Level of education	High school: 7.3% College/university: 92.7%
Have attained nutritional-related qualification	Yes: 9.8% No: 90.2%
Consumption of smoothie	Once a day: 14.3% Once a week: 16.7% Twice a week: 9.5% Every 2-3 weeks: 9.5% <Once a month: 40.5% Every month: 9.5%

Overall liking and market potential questions:

Blend	Overall liking on a 9-pt hedonic scale (1=dislike extremely, 9=like extremely)	Willingness to purchase	Willingness to pay	Improvements suggested
Saskatoon smoothie	5.2±1.5	Definitely will not buy (21.4%) Probably will not buy (28.6%) Might or might not buy (31%) Probably will buy (16.7%) Definitely will buy (2.4%)	$3.50 (31%) $4.00 (16.7%) $4.50 (14.3%) $5.00 (2.38%) Other ($0.00-$3.00): 35.7%	Better color, more sweetness, fruity, less grainy, would like to know health benefits
Aronia smoothie	4.4±1.7	Definitely will not buy (14.6%) Probably will not buy (34.2%) Might or might not buy (34.2%) Probably will buy (17.1%)	$3.50 (41.5%) $4.00 (22.0%) $4.50 (7.3%) Other ($0.00-$2.50): 29.3%	More sweetness, thinner, would like to know health benefits
Blackcurrant smoothie	3.6±1.7	Definitely will not buy (14.6%) Probably will not buy (34.2%) Might or might not buy (34.2%) Probably will buy (17.1%)	$3.50 (40.5%) $4.00 (11.9%) $4.50 (7.1%) Other ($1.00-$3.00): 40.5%	Sweeter (additional fruit for pairing), less seedy, would like to know health benefits.
Three-berry smoothie	5.4±2.0	Definitely will not buy (40.5%) Probably will not buy (31%) Might or might not buy (23.8%) Probably will buy (4.8%)	$3.50 (36.6%) $4.00 (19.5%) $4.50 (12.2%) $5.00 (4.88%) Other ($1.00-$3.00): 26.8%	More fluid (less pulp), sweeter would like to know health benefits

Term generation for a Check-All-That-Apply:

In the future development and refinement of this product idea, it has been envisioned to conduct a Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) sensory-type questionnaire. This will enable consumers to select terms which they feel resonate best with the attributes of appearance, aroma, flavor and texture.

To generate terms for the CATA sensory session, the current sensory was used as a medium to find what terms consumers would use to describe the sensory attributes of appearance, aroma, flavor and texture.

The frequently mentioned terms for each blend type and relevant sensory attribute, can be depicted in the following table:

Blend	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Texture
Saskatoon smoothie
Aronia smoothie
Blackcurrant smoothie
Three-berry smoothie

Conclusion/Recommendations

Based on the consumer responses of these four blends, it can be suggested that to improve all the formulations, a sweeter base is desirable. For future/upcoming trials, it is recommended to use apple juice as the medium (considering apples can be locally sourced in Montana) instead of water to blend all the ingredients together. The apple juice will also work to complement the profile of the berries and provide a more balanced flavor. The suggestion of apple juice has been considered from the repeated mention of this in the questionnaire. Another alternative, which can be trialed is use of a mixed apple and cherry juice.

Considering, there was no mention of mint in the responses, it can be suggested to increase the dosage to this. This can be obtained by replacing maple syrup with a greater amount of mint. The use of apple juice is hypothesized to provide the desirable sweetness in the formulations, thereby omitting the need to include maple syrup.

From the four-formulations presented, it can be noted that the ‘three-blend smoothie’ shows greatest potential. However, the appropriate amount of each berry in the smoothie must be found to try and optimize the palatability of this formulation. (Currently, all berries had been dosed at equal proportion, by ensuring the total solids provided from each is the same).

References

Bower, C. K., et al. (2003). Promoting the safety of Northwest fresh and processed berries, Oregon State University, Extension Service: 37.

Mavromichalis, I. (2016). How gelatinization, retrogradation affect cooked cereals. FeedStrategy, Watt Global Media.

Meter Food (2017). "How water activity and pH work together to control microbial growth." Retrieved 28th March, 2021, from https://www.metergroup.com/food/articles/how-water-activity-and-ph-work-together-to-control-microbial-growth/.

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