Acerola Cherry; Super Food; Super Nutrition

According to natural products industry insiders, a significant amount of the global supply of acerola material is reportedly adulterated with exogenous L-ascorbic acid, some of which may be chemically synthesized and/or produced from genetically engineered starting materials. For many years, L-ascorbic acid had been produced mainly by chemical synthesis (Reichstein process), but there are new biotechnological approaches, e.g., involving the epiphytic bacterium Erwinia herbicola (Enterobacteriaceae) strain genetically engineered to contain a gene from the Gram-positive bacterium Corynebacterium spp. (Corynebacteriaceae), which converts glucose to 2-ketogulonic acid and can then be converted to ascorbic acid, among other novel biotech methods.³⁷ Methodologies to determine the presence or absence of biotech or synthetic L-ascorbic acid in acerola products have been developed and validated, including Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (13C-IRMS-AOAC 998.12).³⁸ It is recommended that buyers of natural acerola ingredients and products work with independent laboratories applying this methodology in order to verify authenticity.

According to natural products industry insiders, a significant amount of the global supply of acerola material is reportedly adulterated with exogenous L-ascorbic acid, some of which may be chemically synthesized and/or produced from genetically engineered starting materials. For many years, L-ascorbic acid had been produced mainly by chemical synthesis (Reichstein process), but there are new biotechnological approaches, e.g., involving the epiphytic bacterium Erwinia herbicola (Enterobacteriaceae) strain genetically engineered to contain a gene from the Gram-positive bacterium Corynebacterium spp. (Corynebacteriaceae), which converts glucose to 2-ketogulonic acid and can then be converted to ascorbic acid, among other novel biotech methods.³⁷ Methodologies to determine the presence or absence of biotech or synthetic L-ascorbic acid in acerola products have been developed and validated, including Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (13C-IRMS-AOAC 998.12).³⁸ It is recommended that buyers of natural acerola ingredients and products work with independent laboratories applying this methodology in order to verify authenticity.