Why BC Blueberries?
Our packers and processors are proud to bring you delicious, high-quality, food-safe BC Blueberry products year-round.
Throughout the blueberry season, from July through September, BC blueberries are both hand-picked and machine-harvested, and are available in a variety of grades and wholesale quantities. Because they are so versatile, along with being available fresh, BC blueberries are also packed for year-round distribution. As demand for the tasty and highly-nutritious fruits grow, markets for frozen, dried, juiced, powdered, puffed, and puréed blueberry products continue to rise globally.
By choosing to use British Columbia blueberries, you are supporting Western Canadian farmers and adding significant health benefits to your menu or product. Whether it's fresh, frozen, or processed BC blueberries that you're seeking, we can help you find what you're looking for.
British Columbia Blueberry Formats Available
Blueberries from British Columbia are available in a range of formats. Below is a list of the different ways in which our packers and processors can supply you with BC blueberries.
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Fresh
Fresh blueberries to be used in uncooked applications, such as salads, toppings for breakfasts, beverages and eating out of hand, or in cooked applications in pies, desserts, and entreés.
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Frozen IQF
“Individually Quick Frozen” for use where you need fruit identity in an application, or free-flowing frozen berries. Uses include yogurt, smoothies, and desserts.
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Case Frozen
Frozen blueberries for use as the base ingredient in jams, syrups, fillings, etc.
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Dried/Dehydrated
Blueberries are infused with syrup or juice, then dehydrated and further processed. Used in baking, snack packs, cereals and salads. Also available unsweetened.
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Freeze Dried
Unsweetened and crunchy, perfect for snacks on their own, and also in applications where you don’t want extra moisture, e.g. baking, and snack packs.
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Powdered
Ground, pure blueberries for use where you just want flavour, shelf-stability, health benefits and colour, but not the bulk. Applications include ice cream, yogurt, smoothies, teas, and nutraceuticals.
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Purée
Pure, unfiltered, crushed blueberries, available as both single strength and concentrate. Used where you need the body of the whole fruit, e.g. in ice cream, sauces, fillings, fruit bar snacks, liqueurs and smoothies. Also used for nutraceuticals.
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Juice
Blueberries that have been crushed, pressed and filtered. Available as ready-to-drink single strength for beverages, or concentrate for adding to beverage blends and sauces. Can be used to add colour to yogurt, etc.
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Fruit Filling
Ready-made product with sweetener and thickener added. For pies, danishes, dessert toppings and yogurt.
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Essence
Clear liquid with purest form of blueberry flavour. Can be used as a beverage flavour without adding colour, or to boost flavour with other blueberry products.
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Further Format Details
Find out everything from quantities available to storage recommendations for all BC blueberry products.
Click here (pdf)
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Looking for Nutritional Information?
Learn more about the health benefits and the nutritional composition of BC blueberries.
Click here (pdf)
Our Commitment to Food Safety
The BC Blueberry Council has a strong commitment to on-farm food safety. Over the past 10 years the BC Blueberry Council has worked diligently with blueberry growers, packers and processors to ensure that our on-farm safety programs keep up with the changing requirements.
The BC Blueberry Council continues to receive funding to continue updating our resources, and to offer Food Safety Workshops and on-farm consultations to blueberry growers. With our food safety program the BC Blueberry Council aims to give growers the tools they need to produce a safe, healthy product for consumers.
Environmentally Conscious
British Columbia blueberry farmers care about the environment. A good field will have proper drainage, raised planting beds, irrigation and sawdust mulch for weed and moisture control. Our valley is set among pristine mountains that supply an abundance of fresh, clean water. Growers use soil and leaf analysis to ensure that optimum levels of fertilizers are applied.
The area between the rows is often planted with a cover crop to help keep the soil healthy. Many growers use an integrated pest management system (IPM) which stresses information, monitoring and careful diagnosis along with the best and safest control techniques to protect both the crop and the environment.
