Sustainable food production through quality optimized raw material production and processing technologies for premium quality vegetable products and generated by-products
SUNNIVA addressed the entire food supply chain for tomatoes, Brassica and their derived products. The project focused on sustainability by using high-throughput non-destructive optical tools to optimize harvest time and determine the effects of elicitor treatments during pre-processing storage; the effect of subsequent innovative processing on the health beneficial compounds; mathematical modelling of the oscillated convection of an innovative shaking retort system; developing bio-refinery process schemes for several vegetable by-products and applying pilot-scale tests with innovative pressing technologies and evaluation of vegetable waste fractions for their potential to be included in organic fertilizers or soil amendments. The results demonstrated that non-destructive optical tools for monitoring specific phytochemicals in tomato and Brassica could replace expensive destructive analyses allowing rapid decisions on harvest time and how to best utilize vegetable raw material or waste fractions. Rational designs of cabbage and/or tomato containing foods were applied to exploit biological activity of phytochemicals where vegetables were microwave-processed and applied in commercial meat production lines to obtain pâtés and sausages with improved health quality. Vegetable by-products represented interesting feedstock with opportunities to recycle into the food chain. Product development within the project is focused on juice and puree products.
Project consortium
Coordinated by
Nofima AS (NO)
Partners
- MONDRAGON GOI ESKOLA POLITEKNIKOA, S. COOP. (ES);
- DCM - De Ceuster Meststoffen N.V. (BE);
- ILVO (BE);
- Hendrix Distilleries (BE);
- KU Leuven (BE);
- INRA (FR);
- CNR-IFAC (IT);
- Fjordkjøkken AS (NO);
- Fjordland AS (NO); Bioforsk (NO);
- Meat Company Nowak (PL);
- InHort Research Institute of Horticulture (PL);
- Gdansk University of Technology (PL);
- Enbio Technology (PL);
- ALATA (TR);
- University of Mersin (TR)