Rio de Janeiro – Brazil has declared the acai berry a national fruit, a move to stamp its ownership on the popular “superfood” as concerns grow about foreign companies staking claims to the Amazon’s biological riches.
Acai has been a savory staple in the Amazon for centuries, eaten as a thick paste alongside fish and manioc flour.
The dark purple berry went global in the early 2000s after it was reinvented as a sweet sorbet, often topped with granola and fruit, and marketed for its antioxidant-rich properties.
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