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Edible Garden and Nutrasorb ink a partnership deal to produce and commercialize first-ever nutritionally-enhanced non-GMO 'Super Lettuce' varieties.

John Vogel, Editor, American Agriculturist

May 19, 2016

2 Min Read

Land grant university spin-off companies are today’s rage and a way for academics to develop and commercialize proprietary products. One of the latest is Nutrasorb, LLC, a Rutgers University spin-off.

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This spring, Edible Garden, a Terra Tech subsidiary and retailer of locally grown hydroponic produce, inked an exclusive agreement with Nutrasorb to grow and commercialize nutritionally-enhanced Super Lettuce varieties across the North America, Europe and Australia. Edible Garden, cultivates a premier brand of local and sustainably grown hydroponic produce, sold through major grocery stores such as Shoprite, Walmart, Krogers, and others in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and the Midwest. The lettuce super blend will be non-GMO Project verified.

The nutritionally-enhanced proprietary lettuces, developed by Rutgers University scientists, are high in vitamins A and C, magnesium, iron and potassium contents. They also have high levels of fiber and chlorogenic acid, according to Dr. Ilya Raskin, professor at Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and Nutrasorb chairman.

“Producing nutritionally-enhanced, non-GMO leafy vegetables differentiates us from our competition,” notes Ken VandeVrede, Terra Tech chief operating officer.

Phytonutrient extracts, too
The agreement also enables Edible Garden to grow produce derived from the Green Super Lettuce (“GSL”) seed for extracting and selling phytonutrient ingredients. The polyphenol extractions (chlorogenic acid, quercetin derivatives and anthocyanin compounds) have potential uses in functional foods, skin care products and nutraceuticals.

Nutrasorb also developed a Rutgers Scarlet Lettuce. RSL extracts carry polyphenol antioxidant levels almost three times higher than blueberries – previously considered the champion of health foods. It delivers significant decreases in blood glucose and insulin resistance over regular lettuce when fed to diabetic mice, according to published Raskin research.

Development of the varieties was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and support from Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. For more information on nutritionally-enhanced, non-GMO leafy vegetables, click on nutrasorb .

About the Author(s)

John Vogel

Editor, American Agriculturist

For more than 38 years, John Vogel has been a Farm Progress editor writing for farmers from the Dakota prairies to the Eastern shores. Since 1985, he's been the editor of American Agriculturist – successor of three other Northeast magazines.

Raised on a grain and beef farm, he double-majored in Animal Science and Ag Journalism at Iowa State. His passion for helping farmers and farm management skills led to his family farm's first 209-bushel corn yield average in 1989.

John's personal and professional missions are an integral part of American Agriculturist's mission: To anticipate and explore tomorrow's farming needs and encourage positive change to keep family, profit and pride in farming.

John co-founded Pennsylvania Farm Link, a non-profit dedicated to helping young farmers start farming. It was responsible for creating three innovative state-supported low-interest loan programs and two "Farms for the Future" conferences.

His publications have received countless awards, including the 2000 Folio "Gold Award" for editorial excellence, the 2001 and 2008 National Association of Ag Journalists' Mackiewicz Award, several American Agricultural Editors' "Oscars" plus many ag media awards from the New York State Agricultural Society.

Vogel is a three-time winner of the Northeast Farm Communicators' Farm Communicator of the Year award. He's a National 4-H Foundation Distinguished Alumni and an honorary member of Alpha Zeta, and board member of Christian Farmers Outreach.

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