All the people who love seabuckthorn products and derivatives must sometimes wonder, “How is Sea buckthorn even harvested?” Let me tell you that harvesting Sea buckthorn is a fun yet intricate process that involves critical steps. From carefully collecting each berry in harsh climates to their careful processing and packaging, every stage is undertaken to preserve the nutritional benefits of the fruit and make it accessible to consumers worldwide.
Seabuckthorn is called a superfruit for a reason. It is a highly nutrient-dense fruit known for its richness of vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids such as omega. It is a resilient shrub grown in harsh climates and is used in a wide range of health and skincare products. Harvesting sea buckthorn and transforming it into valuable products, such as juice, oil, and supplements, involves several critical steps that ensure quality and sustainability.
Sea buckthorn berries grow on thorny shrubs, making the harvesting process a real challenging task. They typically ripen between late summer and early autumn, depending on the region and climatic conditions. Primarily, two methods are employed to harvest sea buckthorn berries:
- Handpicking: Berries are intricately picked from each stem, making it a very labour-intensive process, but it ensures that the integrity of the berries is preserved. Due to the presence of sharp thorns, workers often use specialized gloves and pruning shears to carefully extract the fruit. This method is commonly employed in small-scale or organic farms where maintaining berry quality is a top priority.
- Branch Freezing Method: In colder regions, an efficient approach involves cutting berry-laden branches, freezing them, and then shaking off the frozen berries. This method minimises damage to the fruit and speeds up collection. While it is less labour-intensive, it requires proper handling to ensure the branches are pruned in a way that allows the plant to recover and continue fruiting in subsequent seasons.
Processing and Extraction
Once the harvest is done, sea buckthorn berries undergo a series of processing steps. These steps extract their valuable components and ensure their preservation for commercial use.
- Cleaning and Sorting: The berries are washed thoroughly to remove all dirt, leaves, and other contaminants that may be there. Then advanced sorting techniques, such as mechanical separation or manual inspection, are used. This ensures that only the highest-quality berries proceed to the next stage.
- Juice Extraction: The berries are pressed to extract their nutrient-rich juice. Sea buckthorn juice is known for its tart flavour and is often blended with other fruit juices or sweeteners to enhance its taste while retaining its health benefits.
- Oil Extraction: Sea buckthorn oil has skin-nourishing, anti-inflammatory, and medicinal properties. The oil is extracted using cold pressing or CO2 supercritical extraction, ensuring essential nutrient retention.
- Drying for Powder or Capsules: Some berries are dehydrated and ground into powder, which is later used as an ingredient in dietary supplements. Freeze-drying is often preferred over traditional dehydration methods as it better preserves the nutrients, particularly the vitamin C and antioxidant content.
Quality Control and Packaging
Rigorous control measures are implemented throughout the processing stages to ensure the highest quality, such as:
- Microbial Testing: Seabuckthorn products undergo microbial testing to ensure they are free from harmful bacteria and contaminants and are safe for human consumption or topical application.
- Nutrient Analysis: Laboratories conduct a detailed nutrient analysis to confirm the presence of essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids.
- Preservation Techniques: Seabuckthorn products are stored in temperature-controlled environments and protected from light and oxygen exposure to enhance shelf life to avoid nutrient degradation.
- Sustainable Packaging: Seabuckthorn products are bottled in eco-friendly glass or BPA-free containers to preserve freshness and minimise environmental impact.
After processing and packaging, seabuckthorn products are distributed to health stores, pharmacies, and online retailers worldwide. The demand for seabuckthorn-based products continues to rise due to their benefits, such as immune support, skin rejuvenation, and cardiovascular health.
The journey of seabuckthorn from berry to bottle is a meticulous process that requires careful harvesting, processing, and quality control. As a superfruit rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids, seabuckthorn has become increasingly famous in the wellness industry, offering numerous health benefits.
