In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Leslie Wada, Ph.D., senior director of nutrition and health research at USHBC/NABC, and Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., chair in nutrition and preventive medicine and director for interdisciplinary research at the Institute for Global Food Security.

Last month, the USHBC hosted a Blueberry Research Roundtable in Washington, D.C., where a group of experts discussed topics related to the five primary health research pillars: brain health, cardiovascular health, gut health, diabetes and prediabetes, and healthy living.

“The idea was: Could we bring some of these experts together in one room, talk about what we know about blueberries and health, and what do we need to know? Where are we going to go in our pipeline of research that we'll be continually funding in the next five years or more? And who better to discuss this than people who have been doing research in blueberries or are excited about starting some research in blueberries?” - Leslie Wada, Ph.D.

“The quality of data that we have now is so much better than we had even five years ago, particularly in relation to blueberries. And that's really thanks to the USHBC committee because they spent a lot of time thinking about what to fund and focusing on a few key areas. So that investment is really starting to pay off.” - Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D.

 Topics covered include:

• The work of the blueberry industry’s scientific advisory board.
• Highlights from the Blueberry Health Research Roundtable that took place in December.
• Details on the latest health and nutrition research on blueberries.
• Opportunities for future blueberry health research.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peru and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on February 8, 2023.