Photo courtesy of Gorge Delights,
Inc.
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Tangy, Junior-size Fruit Bars from ARS Process
By Marcia Wood
June 18 , 2008 Flavorful, chewy bars made from
apples, pears and other fresh fruit now come in a size perfect for kids--or for
adults who want a healthy, smaller-than-usual snack.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists developed the process for making the all-fruit bars, which weigh in
at just under an ounce (25 grams) and provide the equivalent of about one
serving of fruit.
The slim, go-anywhere packaging keeps the bars soft and fresh, and allows
them to fit easily into a child's lunchbox. The bars are a handy size to be
taken along as a lightweight snack for a hike, bike ride, or camping or
backpacking trip. With a two-year shelf life, the bars also are handy for
keeping with other foods stored for emergency use in the car or at home.
The junior-sized treats are the newest addition to the line of all-natural
fruit bars made by Gorge Delights,
Inc., of North Bonneville, Wash. The company holds a license from ARS for
the technology used to create the bars from purees and concentrates, without
the need for fillers, preservatives or other artificial ingredients.
ARS food technologist and research leader
Tara H.
McHugh and former ARS agricultural engineer Charles C. Huxsoll, now
retired, developed and patented the process. They did the work in their
laboratories at the agency's
Western
Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif.
Gorge Delights introduced the smaller-size bars earlier this year and is
marketing them--to vending machine suppliers--in six flavors: apple,
apple-cherry, apple-raspberry, pear, pear-cranberry and pear-strawberry.
The company's standard-size fruit bars, each 1.4 ounces (40 grams), are
available in those flavors, plus apple-blueberry and pear-blueberry, at retail
outlets and on the World Wide Web at www.GorgeDelights.com. All of the bars
are gluten-free and kosher-certified.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.