`HERBATIVES' page 151

eggs and milk products to snack
foods, dry cereals and bread —
as well as moisturizers and oth-
er cosmetics. All require antiox-
idants.
The solution lies in mobiliz-
ing the natural preservative
powers of certain herbs to do the
job of synthetic and chemical in-
gredients. A 2 1/2-year-old com-
pany at the Granot-Yozmot
industrial complex near Hadera
has isolated natural compounds
inherent in oregano, rosemary
and sage that embody both nat-
ural antioxidating attributes as
well as fungiastic and bacterio-
static properties. Analit Extracts
has packed these derivatives
into a line of products to serve
the food and cosmetic industries,
called "herbatives."
To date, food and cosmetic
manufacturers have had two
natural alternatives — vitamin
E and rosemary extract. Both
are expensive. The effect of vit-
amin E is short lived, and rose-
mary extract carries a very
strong aroma that limits its use.
Moreover, both are soluble in
fatty bases only and unsuitable
for liquid or powder bases: Their
application is severely limited.
Herbatives, on the other

hand, are available in powder
and liquid form with low self-
aroma and remain stable even
when heated up to 200 degrees
Celsius.
Unlike synthetic/chemical in-
gredients, natural herbatives
are 100 percent safe. Classified
as a food supplement, they re-
quire no licensing procedure and
carry no restrictions on dosage.
The Israeli breakthrough is
expected to free the industry of
its dependence on chemical and
synthetic compounds by offer-
ing a much more effective nat-
ural alternative that can be used
in products ranging from chew-
ing gum to suntan oil. This is a
billion dollar business in the food
industry alone.
The same properties that
make the additive retard oxida-
tion in oils can also enhance rub-
ber, apoxy and plastic-coated
materials.
Half a million dollars has been
invested in establishing a facto-
ry at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu — an
Israeli settlement that special-
izes in the cultivation of herbs —
to produce herbatives in com-
mercial quantities. The first
herbatives are expected on the
market within a few months. ❑

Israelis Hooked
On Cell Phones

YOU'LL FIND ALL YOUR FAVORITE STORES AT THE NEW SOMERSET

COLLECTION. YOU KNOW, THE ONES YOU GREW UP WITH.

LIKE HUDSON'S. YOU'LL ALSO FIND THE STORES YOUR KIDS WILL

GROW UP WITH. LIKE GUESS. BUT THAT'S OKAY, NOW

YOU CAN SHOP TOGETHER. THEN AGAIN, MAYBE NOT.

SISSY BLOCK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

A

cellular phone rings in a
trendy Tel Aviv cafe. Im-
mediately, six people
spring to answer the call.
Realizing it wasn't his phone, the
man at the next table smiles un-
abashedly.
You can't go anywhere in Is-
rael these days without hearing
the familiar ring of a cellular
phone, aka peleplume.
Pele is the Hebrew word for
"marvel," and no other prefix
could better reflect the spell these
\_ little pieces of technology have
cast upon the Israeli public.
Pelephone is actually the name
of Israel's first cellular phone
company, which entered the mar-
ket in 1986. But it wasn't until
December 1994 that cellular
phones went from being a pure-
ly luxury item to a common Is-
raeli accessory.
Enter Cellcom. This company
offered the lowest airtime rates
in the world (about 3 cents a
minute), much cheaper than
Pelephone rates (abut 20 cents a
minute). The cellular phone it-
self, costing $450 to $1000, could
be paid for in installments, the
relatively painless Israeli way to
pay for almost anything. All you
had to do was to order a cellular
phone line at the Cellcom office.

Not an easy task — during the
first few weeks of business, lines
were out the door and down the
street.
By April 1995, Cellcom had al-
most 55,000 users, compared to
Pelephone's 130,000 when it was
the only ticket in town. A touch
of competition created amazing
growth for the entire industry.
Right now, some 550,000 cellu-
lar phones are in use in Israel; it
is expected to reach 800,000-
900,000 by year's end.
To attract more customers,
both Pelephone and Cellcom
have introduced "value pack-
ages," which are generally a com-
bination of special airtime rates
and good deals on equipment.
Pelephone has also recently in-
troduced the very latest cellular
phone innovation — the Mango.
Basically a glorified beeper
with rather limited usage, the
Mango can receive all incoming
calls, while only allowing you to
call one number (ideally home).
Their fashionable outdoor ad-
vertisements clearly target the
teen set, providing a stylish way
for moms to keep track of their
young.
However, major compLtni_4"

ISRAELIS page 155

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153