From Vineyard to Customer

The Uniqueness of Nature's Pearl

Nature's Pearl Senior Scientist

The Muscadine

The Muscadine grape is one of those fruits that defy logic as it grows in its harsh environment of the American Southeast. Unlike the European grape (vitis vinifera) which requires a relatively cooler and dryer environment, the Muscadine grape thrives in the severe heat and humidity which gives it a greater susceptibility to bacterial and fungal attack. But the Muscadine is no ordinary fruit, requiring little cultivation to grow and flourish.

After many years of growing wild, Muscadine grapes have been domesticated and used commercially in the making of wine, bottled juice, jams and jellies. Until now, the flavor sensation of Muscadine grapes has only been appreciated from the Carolinas to Florida and west to Texas. Normal production was to recover the juice and discard the leathery tough skins and large-sized seeds. But research in the last 20 years has shown that the best part of Muscadine grapes was being discarded. For this reason Nature's Pearl ™ Corporation has invested substantially in continued scientific research to bring the true pearl of the Muscadine grape to our customers.

"Muscadine seeds and skins have an abundance of phenolic compounds that are essential for the well-being of human health."

Muscadine seeds and skins have an abundance of phenolic compounds that are essential for the well-being of human health. These compounds were once a staple of our daily food intake, but are now almost non-existent in our highly selective and processed Western diets. Nature's Pearl™ has dedicated its financial resources and manpower to return the rich storehouse of antioxidants to our diets in one convenient nutritional supplement. The phytochemicals in Nature's Pearl™ Muscadine grapes significantly strengthen the body's natural repression of inflammatory chemicals from the cells.

In the Vineyard

Although Muscadine grapes are stable in the field, once they are harvested, great care and monitoring are required to ensure the highest quality product for our customers. For this reason, Nature's Pearl ™ Corporation has put in place trained production personnel; and installed a quality control lab to carefully handle and monitor the product at each stage of the process. Nature's Pearl has taken the extra step of demanding the highest quality from vineyard to customer. Lead scientist Rick Tomkinson oversees quality control testing, phenolic analysis and the encapsulation process for every batch of Nature's Pearl™ Premium Muscadine Grape Seed Supplement manufactured.

Our Vineyards & Lab

Our dedication to quality begins at the start of the process - in the vineyard. Nature's Pearl™ has taken a two-pronged approach in supplying seed and skins for our product lines. Nature's Pearl™ grows its own Muscadine grapes on our farm in the Yadkin Valley fertile soil of North Carolina. It is here also that our research, product development and testing lab is located to give us first-hand knowledge of how best to cultivate Muscadine grapes. We work closely with the leading Muscadine growers in the southeast, using proven methods to nurture the finest grapes for harvesting, juice pressing and post harvest handling of skins and seeds for shipment to our storage and processing facility in Mocksville, N.C. Stringent requirements of allowable handling methods, temperature monitoring and transporting requirements have been put in place from field to storage to ensure the highest quality product at every step of the process.

Our Program

All requirements from vineyard to customer must conform to our extensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and our Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) program which monitors quality control critical points in the process ensuring a safe and reliable product. Upon receipt, every bin of material is visually screened, temperature-determined and necessary samples collected for key control monitoring. Once the data is collected, the skins and seeds are closely examined throughout the drying, separation, encapsulation and bottling processes.

"In 2009, the company rejected 200,000 pounds of muscadine grapes, to maintain the highest value in each 650-milligram capsule."

Analysis

Rigorous scientific testing is conducted on Nature's Pearl™ Muscadine grape seeds and skins. All raw materials are dried to specific moisture content. At precise times, the samples are collected and analyzed for key polyphenols, such as ellagic acid and Oligomeric ProanthoCyanidins (OPC's). The Oxygen Radical Absorbing Capacity (ORAC scale) measures antioxidant rating; and is routinely utilized in tracking the quality of Nature's Pearl™ products. Shelf stabilization is tested and confirmed.

If quality levels are not met, Nature's Pearl will not hesitate to discard any material. In 2009, the company rejected 200,000 pounds of muscadine grapes, to maintain the highest value in each 650-milligram capsule. Seeds and skins that meet requirements are stored in plastic-lined containers in our onsite walk-in cooler until the next step of the process of encapsulation. At the end of the operation, samples are collected by the Quality Control Lab and measured for overall quality. Our professional staff and these stringent controls in our state of the art facilities ensure the reasons why Nature's Pearl™ Premium Muscadine Grape Seed Supplement leads the industry.

Product Encapsulation

In the final steps of the process, Nature's Pearl™ has invested in top of the line equipment for our high-speed grinding, encapsulation and bottling line. Using an in-house designed system requiring minimal human handling, seeds and skins are ground to a uniform particle size, automatically sent to the high-speed encapsulation unit and delivered automatically within seconds to our bottling and capping machine. Nature's Pearl™ nominal human contact verifies our safe and clean manufacturing process. Good product in, good product out. The focus of our company is to spare no expense to deliver the best quality products for our valued customers.

- Rick Tomkinson, MS
Nature's Pearl™ Senior Scientist

Rick Tomkinson Mr. Tomkinson's education from Michigan State University included the three disciplines of Crop Science, Food Science and Human Nutrition. After his formal education, Mr. Tomkinson was employed at Campbell Soup Company's Research Facility in fresh market produce, developing quality control methods, analyzing compositional analysis and running microbial analysis to determine quality indicators. Mr. Tomkinson has researched analytical and environmental chemistry in his work in human nutrition. For the past three years, this Senior Nutrition Scientist has directed Nature's Pearl™ in establishing quality control programs and development of new products and applications.