An initiative is underway in southern Chile to take certain relatively unknown and region-specific fruits to the wider international marketplace. 

Calafate, mosqueta, cauchaos and corinto are all fruits typical to the Chilean Patagonia region that Carolina Jara is hoping to commercialize in the form of 100% natural juice.

Her initiative is being financed by the Regional Government of Aysen's Innovation for Competitiveness Fund, through the national Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIA), and aims to design, pack and label juices for human consumption made entirely from the wild fruits.

"[The idea was] to promote the sustainable development of non-timber forestal resources in the region, and these fruits have the optimum quality and quantity for processing and consumption, revealing their exotic and unique flavors," Jara said.

Food engineer and team member on the project Susana Silva added that the juices had high levels of antioxidants and were processed without any additives.

The scientific claims of the juices' properties are supported by analysis carried out by the Universidad de Chile.

FIA head and supervisor of the initiative Loreto Burgos said one of the project's positive aspects was that these little-known fruits from the Aysen region were being rescued, and jobs would be created from December to March every year.

Photo: A calafate fruit, via Wikimedia Creative Commons

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