Value-creation from apple waste
This project is part of the perspective of a sustainable fruit juice production by creating value from waste produced by fruit pressing. This waste is too often used as compost or as anomal feed. However, this waste contains polyphenols which, once isolated, have a range of interesting therapeutic activities: antioxidant, free radical scavenger, antiviral activity, anti-inflammatory, etc. Each year, Switzerland produces more than 140,000 tonnes of apples, of which about 40,000 tonnes are used to produce apple juice, which generates around 8,000 tonnes of polyphenol-rich pressing waste. This project focuses on this waste . The goal of this project is to creat value from apple waste by using it as a raw material for obtaining an antioxidant rich extract. The methods and processes developed in this project will also be used for other pressing waste than apples. In addition, a selection of the best extracts will be tested in a model in order to evaluate the beneficial effects on the intestinal microbiota.
2017 – 2019
Partners: Haute École d’ingénierie et d’architecture de Fribourg – Institut ChemTech
Funding: HES-SO
