•    Granatum Europa joins forces from Catalunya, the Canary Isles, the Valencian Community and the Murcia Region, in collaboration with German and Dutch food and agriculture companies, to lead the European pomegranate juice, nectar and extract market.

•    Scientific research has proven that pomegranate juice has a much higher concentration of natural antioxydants than other foodstuffs; it has three times more antioxydants than green tea or red ‘reserva’ wine and has demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of prostate cancer, arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure, menopause, inflammatory processes, etc. In addition, it lowers the blood pressure and glucose levels and improves heart perfusion by 50% and for this reason is used by patients who have suffered heart attacks.

•    We expect to be leading the pomegranate juice, nectar, syrup and capsule market within the next 10 years.

Madrid – Granatum Europa is the only integrated project that combines Research and Development and in which laboratories and food and agriculture companies from all over Spain (Catalunya, the Canary Isles, Valencian Community and Murcia Region, among others) collaborate and have united their experience with that of German and Dutch companies.

With an investment of 5 million Euros, Granatum Europa develop their projects from research carried out at Miguel Hernández University (UMH) Agriculture and Food Technology Department by the Food Quality and Safety group, led by Professor Ángel Carbonell and other prestigious scientists from both Spanish and European universities, applying the latest agriculture and food technology.

All of the raw materials used come from farming cooperatives in the Alicante province - “Albafruits” and “CoopElche”. With an annual turnover of 40,000 tonnes, 95% of the pomegranates grown in the European Union are concentrated in the Alicante province.

Granatum Europa will market the first and widest range of products made from the Mollar pomegranate, which is cultivated in Spain. This range, consisting of juices, nectars, syrups and capsules, all with a high antioxydant content, especially punicalagins and OMEGA 5 fatty acids, will offer the consumer all of the benefits that the pomegranate is found to have on our health.

Various scientific studies show the power that pomegranate juice has as a natural antioxydant, with concentrations of antioxydants which are far superior to those found in other foodstuffs. Consisting mainly of water (80%) and sugars (20%), the pomegranate has a high polyphenol content, substances which are converted into simple substances by the intestinal flora, called “urolithins” (highly concentrated in the blood and present for up to 4 days after being consumed), punicalagins (with antibacterial activity and preventers of oxidative stress) and antocyans (which strengthen and preserve collagen, improve microcirculation in the eye and the state of the blood vessels, etc.).

The pomegranate has three times more antioxydants than green tea or red ‘reserva’ wine and has demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of prostate cancer, arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure, menopause, inflammatory processes, etc. In addition, it lowers the blood pressure and glucose levels and improves heart perfusion by 50% and for this reason is used by patients who have suffered heart attacks.

The European Union is, along with the United States and Japan, one of the greatest consumers of pomegranates and products derived from the fruit. In Europe, the most highly consumed pomegranate product is its juice, which is in very high demand. The growth of sales in England has also been spectacular, with annual sales amounting to 50 million pounds, but 99% of the pomegranate juice consumed by Europeans comes from countries outside of the borders of the EU and its quality is inferior to that of the juice produced in Spain (e.g. from Afghanistan, India, China and Iran).

With the birth of this business project, it is expected that the demands of the Continent will be able to be met within a few years. For Eduardo Vidal, President of Granatum Plus “We are setting out with the clear objective of offering the consumer an optimum product made from Mollar Elche pomegranates, one of the most highly prized varieties in the world, thanks to its organoleptic balance and to having one the highest antioxydant, vitamin and mineral contents”.

The Mollar Elche pomegranate is indigenous to the countryside around Elche known as ‘Campo de Elche’, although it is now cultivated in other areas of Spain and in other parts of the world. Experts recommend consuming this fruit both in its natural form and as a juice, syrup, nectar or in capsules.