Fresh Canadian Saskatoon berries will soon be available through a major UK retailer, says fruit importer JO Sims.
Its first attempt to bring the Saskatoon berry to the market in 2004 was scuppered by the Food Standards Agency, which claimed the fruit was a novel food and had to undergo safety tests. But the Canadian Commission intervened with evidence that the berry had been grown and eaten in Finland before 1997 and could therefore be sold under EU law.
The Saskatoon berry looks like a blueberry and is said to have a cherry/almond taste.
It grows on bushes more than 15 feet tall and is picked in July.