Aloe vera is a versatile plant that has many uses in a modern world. It is mostly known for its health benefits and use in cosmetics and skincare, but the plant is also growing in popularity for its juice and how it can be used to make new and interesting food products. A new bread variety created by Moama Bakery for example.
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Aloe Vera of Australia (AVA) was established in the 1970s, and its founder Jennifer McDougall soon expanded her business in to the Riverina and Northern Victoria.
In the 1990s the company established crops at both Barooga and Numurkah.
While the Barooga farm was closed 10 years ago, the now Melbourne-based company still produces most of its product in the Moira Shire for various uses.
“It is used in our product categories that include Aloe Juice, other beverages, skin care, cosmetics and health care,”Mrs McDougall said.
“We also supply many major companies with raw aloe vera extract for inclusion in their product manufacturing.
“Aloe Juice is 92 per cent of my business and the bottle with the yellow cap has been in Coles and Woolworths for 43 years.’’
Mrs McDougall and her late husband were the first to import Aloe Barbadensis plants into Australia, and are therefore credited with launching the aloe vera industry in the country.
“When I brought the plants to Australia no one had heard of them, so it was a hard slog,”she said.
“I could only bring 12 plants into Victoria, 12 into New South Wales and 12 into Queensland.
“I first started to grow them in Robinvale where they were growing beautifully in the summers but in the winter they all died due to the weather being so cold.
“Then I shifted to Barooga, and Numurkah, and grew mostly under hot house conditions, and they were beautiful.’’
Aloe plants are a renewable source. Only the outer leaves are removed as the plant continues to grow.
“In the harvesting process we hand fillet the leaves and finely filter the alloin extract, which is known to have a negative laxative effect if induced,”Mrs McDougall said.
“The alloin is removed to give the juice maximum efficacy and a smoother, more palatable flavour, whilst keeping maximum nutrients intact.
“We then test each batch for quality and purity, and an independent accredited analytical laboratory is used to ensure a sterile stable product.’’
All of AVA’s plants are grown without chemicals, phosphates or pesticides.
They are known as an excellent nutrient, containing more than 200 different constituents — most proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, lipids, and 20 of the 22 amino acids — all essential to the release of energy and the building of the body.
There are currently 17 plants at the Numurkah property, with more to be added in coming months.
