In a lab in a renovated warehouse on the banks of a churning, brown river in Belém, machines are pulping candidates for the next global "superfood". Cupuaçu... Taperebá... Bacaba... Like açaí berries, these fruits are rich in antioxidants, fibre or fatty acids. If Brazil has its way, they could soon be popping up on your social media feeds and being sold in fashionable cafes in the UK, Europe and the US.
"There's a lot of superfoods in the [Amazon] forest that people don't know," says Max Petrucci, founder of a local company, Mahta, that sells powdered cacao and Brazil nuts for shakes. The drink he gives me to try is gritty and tastes like chocolate without sugar. |