When you eat a pomegranate, all the peel you remove still has a lot of life and numerous properties. The same applies to other vegetable waste, such as melon seeds or pumpkin seeds. Wonderful things can be done with those food by-products that end up in the garbage.
This has been, precisely, the objective of the AITEX Research and Innovation Center with the INNATUR project, which we have joined from Peris, because we are enthusiastic about contributing to the circular economy.
In this project we have provided coconut shells and pomegranate rinds, fruit of our fresh-cut activity. And you know what? With these two by-products that normally end up in the trash, AITEX has worked to generate extracts that have proven to have a high antioxidant and barrier effect.
From the pomegranate rind, it has extracted its active ingredients and encapsulated them by atomization to preserve their active and organoleptic properties, which have proven to have a high antioxidant power. This extract has been incorporated into a waterless shampoo, with sebum-regulating power, and an eye contour with anti-aging potential, moisturizing effect and barrier function enhancement.
The coconut shell has been processed to obtain microparticles with exfoliating power, as an alternative to microplastic exfoliants. This product has been used to prepare a body cream with moisturizing potential and improved protection against external agents.
For this research, AITEX optimized the extraction method adapted to the different by-products to obtain the highest yield of total polyphenols. The project has been supported by the Conselleria d’Economia Sostenible, Sectors Productius, Comerç i Treball de la Generalitat Valenciana.
8,500 kilos of waste per day
The agri-food industry generates a large volume of organic waste per day. In our case, this volume reaches an average of 8,500 kilos, as a result of the pre-prepared convenience food activity in which we discard fruit and vegetable skins, seeds and pits, by-products that, when processed and transformed in an appropriate manner, provide value for different industries, reinforcing the circular economy and sustainability.
For this reason, we wanted to be an active part in the revaluation of these by-products, something that we have done not only with AITEX, but also with various entities and companies, such as the
University of Castilla-La Mancha
y
Väcka
among others. Together and with a lot of perseverance, we will achieve a more sustainable agri-food sector and a more sustainable world.