Executive Summary: Fruit Pomace Evaluation

Summary of Project and Key Findings:
Barker’s are interested in determining the feasibility of converting fruit pomace from juicing into nutraceutical and functional food ingredients. Plant & Food Research and Barker’s used Bioresource Processing Alliance (BPA) funding to quantify compounds of interest within a range of Barker’s pomaces, to determine potential nutritional and functional benefits. If successful, this project will add value to Barker’s by-product, reducing waste, diverting it from stockfeed and offsetting the costs of growing fruit, transport and processing.

The first stage of the project was to identify and quantify selected properties of pomace from three fruit types. A further aim was to assess how different processing treatments may yield the best functionality in the pomace, and to balance that with the yield required. Subsequent stages of the project could include concept and prototype development, pilot plant trials, factory trials, techno-economic modelling, nutrition, and health assessments to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and commercialisation activities.

In terms of the nutrients, dietary fibre was very high in the final pomace samples, while Vitamin C varied by fruit type. Other nutrients measured are probably not of dietary significance.

Further work is needed to confirm these initial findings and explore factors such as seasonal variation in the key components.