Summer 2015 View this email in your browser

One of the most important priorities of the California Dried Plum Board (CDPB) is to provide our trade partners,consumers, media and health professionals with compelling and useable information about the nutritional benefitsfound in California prunes. To do so we must be keenly aware of the trends in nutrition research and how we fit intothe considerable and often complex studies that may directly or indirectly involve prunes. We must also reach outand engage those leading researchers to learn and where appropriate support their work.

I am excited by the energy I see in the research community, particularly in the area of bone health, but also in thebroader arena of gut health, inflammation and disease and what that may portend for the future of prune growersand processors. Momentum is building and that means more opportunity to support projects that can uncover thenutritional power of prunes.

The Board’s attendance and sponsorship of the recent International Symposium on the Nutritional Aspects ofOsteoporosis in Montreal in June provided a fantastic opportunity to touch base with leading researchers in the areaof bone health from across the world. The Symposium provided multiple learnings and prospects for futureresearch.

As a result, interest is high in our most recent Call for Proposals on strategic bone health studies. In order toeffectively respond the Board has approved a more robust research and outreach budget that helps us to harnessthe benefits of what is being learned and to share it with our most important audiences.

I hope you enjoy this snapshot of our many activities in markets throughout the world.

Here’s to California Dried Plums!

Donn Zea, Executive DirectorCalifornia Dried Plum Board

Focus on Quality Carbohydrates

The Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) identified healthy dietary patternsas being higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate inalcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar sweetened foods and drinks and refined

grains. Vegetables and fruit are the only characteristics of the diet that were consistently identified in everyconclusion statement across the health outcomes – supporting past advice to consumers to make half their platefruits and vegetables.

Since healthy dietary patterns are often made up of high amounts of plant-based foods, which are primarilycomposed of quality carbohydrates, consumers may need assistance in distinguishing between qualitycarbohydrates and refined carbohydrates. Quality carbohydrates are those that provide nutrients and healthbenefits while refined carbohydrates may provide calories but few nutrients or health benefits.Consumers often askabout the amount and types of carbohydrate in dried plums – perhaps perceiving them as a concentrated source ofenergy and sugar that need to be avoided (See Spotlight on Added Sugars, below). According to the USDANational Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 27, a Nutrition Facts serving of 4-5 dried plums (40grams) contains: 96 Calories, 25. 5 g total carbohydrate, 2.8 g dietary fiber, 15.5 g total sugars primarily glucose(10.2g) and fructose (4.9g) with little sucrose (0.06g), the latter sugar associated with dental health. Dried plumscontain no added sugars. Therefore, only dried plums’ naturally occurring sugars are listed in grams along with thegrams of Dietary Fiber under Total Carbohydrate on a product’s Nutrition Facts Panel (NFP). This carbohydrateprofile helps position dried plums as a healthy snack compared to other refined carbohydrate snacks.

Since 2007, Mark Kern, PhD, RD, CSSD, Professor at the Department of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, SanDiego State University, has studied the role of dried plums as a nutritious snack and compared dried plums torefined snack foods with similar macronutrients (amounts of total carbohydrate, fat and protein) but inherentlydifferent in fiber and micronutrient and phytonutrient content. He assessed the snacks’ profiles on satiety, dietquality, and glucose and insulin responses in healthy female subjects. His research presented at ExperimentalBiology 2014, investigated the effects of a whole food (dried plums) or a refined snack (low-fat muffins) on glucoseand insulin response in overweight individuals with metabolic syndrome and/or prediabetes. His results support theconcept that consuming a whole food snack such as dried plums enhances insulin sensitivity as compared to arefined snack food with the same amount of calories. His research shows lower insulin concentrations and a lowerpeak in blood glucose after consuming dried plums versus a low-fat muffin.

“Many fruits have interesting properties, but I’m attracted to conducting research on dried plums because of themultitude of unique characteristics they possess that seem to translate into satiating properties, lipid-loweringeffects, an ability to improve bone health and the promotion of gut function,” said Dr. Kern.

Spotlight on ADDED SugarsTo help consumers improve their food choices and adopt healthy dietary patterns that help lower the risk of chronicdiseases associated with obesity, the Food and Drug Administration is proposing a 10 percent Daily Value forAdded Sugars to appear on the Nutrition Facts Panel. Added sugars are those added to foods either by theconsumer or by manufacturers during processing and include sugars, syrups, and naturally occurring sugars thatare isolated from a whole food and concentrated so that sugar is the primary component (such as fruit juiceconcentrates).

The FDA is acting on recommendations of the Scientific Report of the 2015 DGAC which points to data thatindicates it is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie requirements when more than 10 percent ofcalories from added sugar are consumed. Currently, U.S. adults get about 13 percent of their calories from addedsugars. Beverages (not including milk and 100% fruit juice) and snacks are major sources of added sugars in theU.S. diet. Other sources include grains (breakfast cereals and bars) and dairy (including sweetened flavored milksand yogurts). Less than one percent of total added sugars in the American diet come from fruits and 100% fruit juicefoods (including fresh, canned, frozen, dried fruit and fruit salads).

Take Home Message for Fruit and Dried Plums – Part of a Healthy Diet:

In the USDA Food Patterns, fruit can address two nutrients of public health concern: fiber and potassium.Among the overall U.S. population, approximately 15 percent meet the daily fruit intake recommendationwhile nearly 80 percent do not meet the recommendation.Dried plums, which contain no added sugars, can help consumers increase their daily fruit intake.See Culinary Corner for ways to enjoy convenient, nutritious dried plums.

For Additional Information Visit:

Nutrition Labeling Regulations

U.S. Dietary GuidelinesAdded Sugars NCHS Data BriefCarbohydrates & Health Report

From,

Mary Jo Feeney, MS, RDN, FADA, FAND Nutrition Advisor

CDPB Nutrition Advisor

Did you know that August is when plums are harvested in California? Now they are ready to be picked andtransformed into everyone’s favorite superfruit. This process usually takes about 30 days and harvesting today islargely done by machines. In the past, growers smoothed the soil beneath the trees and let the prune plums dropbefore gathering them. Many decades ago this method took much longer and required three to four “pickings" tostrip an orchard completely of fruit. Now a mechanical shaker grabs a tree’s main limb or its trunk and, in a matter ofseconds, shakes the fruit onto a fabric catching frame spread underneath. From there, it’s a quick conveyor ride tobins destined for the dehydrator. Hear straight from our growers and watch the harvest process by visiting ourwebsite here!

The International Symposium on Nutrition Aspects of Osteoporosis (ISNAO) is the only regular scientificmeeting in the bone field exclusively devoted to nutrition. It allows researchers to review new scientific data,discuss new concepts, and update their knowledge on several nutrients. This makes it the perfect venue forthe CDPB to share their recent bone health research.

In June, Bernard Halloran, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco,presented his new study pertaining to attainment of peak bone mass in animals and Dr. Shirin Hooshmand,PhD, associate professor at the School of Exercise & Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State Universitypresented an abstract on her study findings that a 50 gram dose of dried plums (5-6 dried plums) is aseffective as 100 grams in slowing bone loss at the poster session.

For Healthy Bones: Got Prunes? Onions? Salmon? Walnuts?

Five Tasty Inflammation Fighters

Five East Swaps That Don’t Sacrifice Flavor

EuropeThe issue of reducing free sugar intake throughlifestyle changes has been a hot topic in the EU since2014. In response, the California Prune Board Europeproduced a 2014/2015 campaign to target both HealthCare Professionals (HCPs) and consumers in a bid toeducate them on the use of California prunes as ahealthy and natural replacement for refinedsugar. The campaign included testing by theCalifornia Prune Board’s EU nutrition team, whereinthe sugar content of seven existing recipes wasreduced by replacing refined sugar with prune puree.These recipes were released throughout Europe anda recipe leaflet entitled ‘Natures Candy’ was createdfor consumers.

KoreaIn April 2015, CPB Korea developed anadvertorial article featuring California prunes’nutritional benefits and culinary applicationwith Monthly Nutriand, a magazine withprimary audience of nutritionists and chefs forgeneral hospitals and school lunch programs.

Recipe Available Here

JapanToshihiko Yoroizuka, a popular pastry chef and ownerand chef of Toshi Yoroizuka, has used prune puree ina traditional French cake, Madeleine. His Madeleinesare made with prune puree in lieu of butter. “Someonewho makes French pastries might be surprised.‘Madeleines without butter?’ It was the first time I

myself had ever used prune puree for cakes. Butwhen you actually try using it, the result is so moistand delicious.”

Recipe Available Here

ChinaThe nutrition benefits of California prunes have beengradually recognized by the Chinese market. Fordifferent consumer groups, the merits of Californiaprune could address their different needs. Recently,the findings about California prunes’ contribution tobone health created a discussion about how boneloss is now a general health concern for many in theChinese community, especially those who are allergicto lactose and cannot get calcium from milk.

Thanks to its versatile applications, more and moreconsumers are enjoying baking with prunes instead ofjust snacking on them. According to Marco Polo, akey bakery chain that has been using Californiaprunes as a bakery ingredient for more than 10 years,California prunes could help extend the shelf life ofthe bakery product in a natural way, largely reducingthe use of preservatives.

Grand Prize Winner, No Bones About it RecipeRedux Contest was Spicy Dried Plum Marinara withButternut Squash Noodles. This recipe utilized dried

plums ability to thicken sauces while providingmoisture and a boost of sweetness.

Provided by the Zen & Spice for the California DriedPlum Board.

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Researcher and Associate Professor Shirin Hooshmand, PhD, is a spokesperson for the CDPB and Researcher and Professor Mark Kern, PhD, is a consultant for the CDPB. CDPB provided partial funding and dried plum products for the various studies presented at Experimental Biology 2014 and ISNAO 2015.

Copyright © 2015, California Dried Plum Board, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:California Dried Plum Board3840 Rosin Court, Suite 170Sacramento, CA 95834

CADriedPlums@ketchum.com