Shocking Plant Fools Tongue

Shocking Plant Fools Tongue

Think of all the people who would love to enjoy sweets without caloric effect or worrying about insulin levels. The controversial history of the berry known as Miracle Fruit traces back to the 1970’s when the far reaching implications of this fruit were first realized. This rare fruit is difficult to cultivate and in fact, only a few people have ever even heard of Miracle Fruit let alone eaten some.

This West African berry has the peculiar effect of causing sour and bitter foods to taste sweet after consumption of Miracle Fruit. It is no wonder then that people have taken note. The ability to create a sweet taste from something sour, with no caloric penalty is potentially worth millions of dollars. CBS reports that every year Americans spend $35 Billion on weight loss alone and the market for artificial sweeteners is over $200 million.

Robert Harvey and Don Emery formed the Miralin Company in the early 70’s with the aim of using miraculin (the active ingredient in Miracle Fruit) to manufacture products for diabetics. The backers of Miralin had broader goals than just the diabetic market and thus Miralin developed popsicles with miracle berry. During testing with Boston schoolchildren the miraculin-flavored pops won over the sugared versions every time.

Shortly after popsicle testing, Harvey reports having been followed and apparently also saw a car slowly driving by the Miralin offices, slowly taking photographs. Several months later the Miralin offices were broken into, ransacked, and files for the FDA scattered, says Harvey.

Poised on the eve of a big product launch Miralin received a letter from the FDA stating that Miracle Fruit had been classified as a food additive. This new status would have required years of costly testing that Miralin couldn’t afford. The company folded.

Though they have been unable to determine why the FDA suddenly and unexpectedly reclassified Miracle Fruit, Emery suspects a competing industry. The...