$9.40/kg. blueberries best value IMO. Remember that blueberries and strawberries are in season and better Australian grown and fresh. Still, not a bad deal if you like fruit on hand in the freezer.
Blueberries
https://www.coles.com.au/product/creative-gourmet-frozen-blu…
Passionfruit
https://www.coles.com.au/product/creative-gourmet-frozen-pas…
Coconut
https://www.coles.com.au/product/creative-gourmet-frozen-coc…
Dragon Fruit
https://www.coles.com.au/product/creative-gourmet-frozen-pin…
I find both Coles and Woolies blueberries can be quite different from one patch to another. Can be sweet and large, and after a couple of months I get a pack of mostly small and fibrous.
makes sense I reckon with seasons and suppliers changing.
100% this. Woolworths branded quality seems much better and consistent and I eat blueberries every day so go through a lot.
Not sure why this is up voted as the price is very average compared to the supermarket brands. Not really saving anything.
not organic, full of pesticides
This is criminal
That is an American article, about Mexican imports.
Frozen blueberries here come from Chile. I know both are "latin America", but there is a big difference.
How is Chile one?
I've only skimmed over the article but it seems like there is poor regulation when it comes to pesticide use in Chile. Paraquat is banned in 50 countries (not including Australia -_-) but seems to be used in Chile.
I wonder if the companies sourcing berries ask the farmers what pesticides they use, and if the farmers actually tell the truth?
@Ghost47: Paraquat is also used in the US. I understand it is a risk for farm workers, not consumers.
You can't taste it over the faeces
It's impossible to buy everything organic, unless you're minted.
The reward outweighs the risk in this case.
Quick look shows Woolies has Oob Organics frozen blueberries 450g at $23kg (product of Chile.) Macro Organics 450g is $19kg (product location varies.) Coles has Oob 300g at $26kg and Coles brand organic 450g (product of Chile) for the same price as the Macro.
Blueberries are in the Dirty Dozen of most contaminated produce.
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php
Its basically poison
Its basically poison
is it poison?
that's like most fruit most ppl eat….
Exactly. Because people can't taste it they assume its fine, and its some nutjob idea that pesticides are on food. A general guide if unsure is the thicker the skin the less contaminated the produce. Like an Avocado has thick skin so less chance the sprays seep into it.
@pma: I'm trying to convince my family of the same thing but they're basically using the arguments I've eaten it before and I'm not dead yet
Yeah, the Hepatitis batch puts me off buying from China. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-03/frozen-berries-linked… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2957808/The-shockin…
Same
I dont understand how this didnt kill this brand. What do companies have to do now to lose customers, gouging cool, hepatitis cool.
China traditionally used human excrement as fertiliser, which was OK as they never ate vegetables raw. Salad was not a thing in China - maybe now among the wealthy, but only with imported vegetables.
A Chinese relative refused to eat any vegetables without thoroughly washing them first. She declared it was 'to wash off all the pesticides'. She refused to eat the organic blueberries I grow in my back yard straight off the bush and had to see them being washed first.
Don’t most people wash their fruit and vegetables before eating them?
@morse: I buy spinach leaves in a bag and never wash them, as they're already washed. Haven't had a problem.
Doesn't matter how clean your veggies come out of the ground when the workers don't wash their hands.
Yep same
The bright side is that hep A generally goes away on its own, it's not like hep C which can become chronic thankfully. In saying that though I would still be wary of buying from this brand or any brand that sources berries from China.
You can get 300g of fresh blueberries at Aldi right now for $2.99, and freeze them yourself :)
Agree - not the season for this deal. But still good to highlight it for those who won’t do what you suggest.
It’s still a good deal
Full of pesticides, sadly. But slight washing them in let’s say bicarbonating soda helps. But not when pesticides has been absorbed into the fruit, surface only. Way more effective on other fruits and veg
@Makaveli99: I like organic but it's impossible to buy just organic. You need to be selective. Blueberries are fantastically good for you.
@Carpe Diem: Yea but im guilty of paying $9:50 for organic blueberries (450g) . Also even organic certified is little BS. They do pens rules (spray with thing that meet criteria but not fully natural or good for you). Also would be great for consumer agency to do some random testing. Even organic from shop is not even close to organic from own back yard or a friend’s etc
So possibly im dumb, store organic items, just good marketing, some might be very reliable & often tested. I should buy lab equipment and get science degree just for this lol
@Makaveli99: You're not dumb at all, you're doing what you think is best.
For me, its very hard to ascertain whether or not the "organic" labelled items are truly healthier. So I don't go with those ones right now. But in future, maybe I will.
@clandestino: Yea I try and eat papaya , passion fruit, dragon fruit, think I got growing at home. Never tried blueberry. More healthy & fresh & saves $$. Best we can do is rely on yourselves. End of day, all store foood, number 1 priority is making money, not the consumer/ customer health. I can do more still.
Was growing organic celery - well planted 1, but a possum came and ate it, that lucky bastard lol
@Makaveli99: I did the same & bought organic too. I consume blueberries most days & like to treat myself when possible.
It's a murky world delving into labels & what is or isn't applied. Organic? Can be different depending on the country it's grown.
Sourcing produce domestically grown is always preferable e.g. zero produce from China.
As for organic? Anything with an exterior shield you don't need organic e.g. avocado, melon, oranges, lemons, banana, passionfruit etc. As the vast majority of the (PHI) pesticides, herbicides & insecticides remains on the shell.
Apples never organic as I always peel them first due to wax applied.
As for a must buy organic? Root vegetables. Carrots are a must for me because the PHI's get sprayed onto the soil, sucked up by the roots & so becomes part of the entire produce.
I always peel them first due to wax applied.
You've been needlessly peeling and throwing away the most nutritious part, as they haven't had wax for over 7 years now
@shkippy: Au contraire!
I prefer to air on the side of caution. True, I lose a small percentage of nutrients but my diet is nutrient rich & so this is not a problem.
I do not only shop at Coles/Woolies. So wax can still be a problem. Even then, natural versions, shellac & carnauba, I prefer to stay away from these with mixed reports.
Also to fully clean produce of pesticides, herbicides & insecticides, it can take a while to completely remove thrm. It's not just a quick rinse. Peeling the skin removes the vast majority of these, since it's a hardened layer :)
@Carpe Diem: Imidacloprid is sprayed on apples and it's a systemic pesticide. No matter how much you wash the fruit you cannot get rid of it, as the pesticide is spread throughout the whole plant including the fruit.
@Cluster: That is the same with all pesticides. A certain amount always penetrates into the fruit/veg.
Only ones I have no real concern about would be ones with a proper hard outer shell e.g. avocado/melons etc.
Apples are also one of the most sprayed produce and so I am mindful of in regards to quantity consumed and organic versions bought.
The other aspect is you can do to counter this would be protocols to promote the chelation of these chemicals e.g. chlorophyll, sauna etc.
That is the same with all pesticides. A certain amount always penetrates into the fruit/veg.
Systemic pesticides circulate internally, they don't penetrate
Only ones I have no real concern about would be ones with a proper hard outer shell e.g. avocado/melons etc.
Hard shells offer zero protection from systemics (eg. walnuts). Avos and melons are typically sprayed with topicals
@Cluster: That is terrible. So it’s all internally in tree & fruit fibres. That bad, can’t do nothing about that
@Carpe Diem: Yup agree. Yup certain fruit that have hard shell don’t absorb pesticides. Banana thought I feel it does, has been chemical taste. Been always buying organic. Still nothing beats home growth, my parent have some but it’s only when in season. Oh Carrot. Good point, I don’t always buy origin, my now will, thank u good point. A lot of that soil pesticides are absorb into the tree & fruit/veg.
Wish I didn’t work full time & had bigger nice property to grow a lot of my own thing. But yea can even do more now, is but hard. Got a lot of thing growing at home but could do better. Thank tout
I reckon you have to repackage into airtight containers and wash before freezing.
Alot more hassle. But at least you know you get Australian.
But at least you know you get Australian.
The dirty dozen: 12 pesticides that are banned elsewhere but still used in Australia
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/20…
coles and woolies say their homebrand is 100% blueberry and nothing else. but often they are so sweet - and have surface sweetness that I have never experienced when freezing natural wild blueberries 🤔🤷♂️
but I'll take their word for it, maybe these are some wonderfully sweet new commercial varieties 🫣🤞
Where how….
This is the way
Agreed, fresh berries taste so much better than these imported frozen ones. Coles also has them for $3 here.
Which states y’all live in that have these deals? Swear in SA we pay way more for berries. 2.49 for a 125g punnet is the price in Aldi/coles/woolies and that’s the cheapest we ever get.
$7 for a 125g punnet not long ago.
Follow the seasons I guess. Strawberries. Now…
It's cheaper to buy Aussie fresh blueberries
Where? They are $2.50 for 170gm at Coles and more at Woolworths (Vic)
I think you missed the best buys on the special
Banana - https://www.coles.com.au/product/creative-gourmet-frozen-ban…
Banana and Mango - https://www.coles.com.au/product/creative-gourmet-banana-man…
Costco has Organic frozen fruit, even cheaper than Coles & Woolies, soz don’t remember the price but def cheaper.
Where are they from?
Depends on the fruit.
e.g. Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberries are Packed in the USA with strawberries from Mexico or USA
Blueberries are from USA
Dragonfruit blend is produced in Vietnam, USA, Mexico, Peru, Argentina
Need to make frozen mango cheaper !!
If you want really aussie tasting blueberries get this
https://www.coles.com.au/product/oz-group-australian-frozen-…
And support Australian growers
difficult, since they are unavailable!?
yeah for me to.
I consider myself to be a bit of a blueberry fanatic. I eat about 2kg per week, every week, for the past 15 years. I usually go for frozen as they're much cheaper.
Costco USA berries are a bit hit or miss. Sometimes really good, other times small and half ripe. Costco organic are a little better.
Blueberries from Chile (Woolworths/Aldi, etc) are pretty consistent and not bad at all.
My go to berries at the moment are the Coles brand berries from Canada. With the spend 4x$50/get $50 free offer they're the cheapest available and always good quality.
I'll be checking out the Creative Gourmet offer as I haven't tried these.
The OP states blueberries are in season in Australia, but at least here in Adelaide that's not true. They're at least two months from rippening when not grown in a greenhouse.
If you want a special treat, track down some frozen wild blueberries at frozen fruit wholesalers. Delicious and much more intense in colour than high bush berries.
Ah yes, apologies, not so sure on the seasons I’m in Queensland. Fresh Aussie blueberries are at good prices in all the shops here at the moment.
Will be keen to hear your reviews. I have been eating about a KG of them every week for last year and half and mostly i go for Coles ones as well.
The CG berries are good. Perhaps not as sweet as the Coles ones from Canada, but still good.
how do these compare to the aldi frozen fruits?
Idk about the blueberries, But for mango def A is a lot tastier, Next comes the Woolies Organic one (taste wise).
Creative gourmet brand Mango is okay, not the tastiest of all but decent
Have not tried coles organic frozen mango yet.
Honestly I prefer the Woolies frozen blueberries. Got these ones at half price previously and was quite disappointed, might’ve just got a dud batch, but I won’t be getting them again. I do however love the dragonfruit and eat it most days, so will stock up on that.