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CIRCULAR ECONOMY: VALORISATION OF OLIVE OIL BY-PRODUCTS

20/03/2023

Olive leaves are among the main by-products of the olive oil system. Find out how the VELP Oxitest reactor enables companies to valorise them as natural additives to improve oxidation stability and extend the shelf life of biscuits.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: VALORISATION OF OLIVE OIL BY-PRODUCTS
Food by-products are minor or secondary products obtained in the production process of main products. They play a key role in the circular economy because they acquire new value in terms of reuse and recycling, in order to minimise waste and wastefulness.

Today, by-products of the agro-food chain are mainly used in sectors such as energy production, animal feed or natural fertilisers, but they can also be used in the food industry, as they are rich in antioxidant properties, which can also have positive effects on the shelf-life of finished products.

Indeed, over the years, synthetic antioxidants have mostly been used to increase the shelf life of products. However, as consumers' attention to issues such as the quality of the products they consume has grown, so has their concern about their toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic potential.

Hence the need to find alternatives that are as effective as they are safe.

Find out how olive leaves, olive pomace, olive mill wastewater and olive stones - the main by-products of the olive oil system - can be used as natural additives in the formulation of biscuits to improve their oxidative stability and extend their shelf-life.

Valorisation of olive leaf extracts as natural antioxidants to extend the shelf life of food products

Valorisation of olive leaf extracts as natural antioxidants to extend the shelf life of food products
Approximately 4.5 million tonnes of olive leaves are produced worldwide each year.

They are rich in phenolic compounds, known for their antioxidant, antimicrobial and health-promoting properties, and can therefore be proposed as natural additives in food formulations, with the aim of producing functional foods or extending the shelf-life of products.

The study "Microencapsulated olive leaf extract enhances physicochemical stability of biscuits", conducted by the University of Parma, using the VELP Oxitest reactor, highlights, for the first time, the potential use of olive leaf extracts as natural additives to extend the shelf-life of biscuits.

The shelf-life of bakery products is influenced by both environmental factors and factors intrinsic to the product, related to its composition. They tend to undergo physical, chemical and microbiological deterioration during storage.

Free and microencapsulated olive leaf extracts (OLE) have been proposed as natural antioxidants to prolong the stability of biscuits under two accelerated storage conditions: with and without UV light. 

The VELP Oxitest reactor verified the differences in oxidation stability between biscuits enriched with free (B-OLE) and microencapsulated (B-MCR) OLE compared to biscuits not containing OLE.

The OXITEST method and the Formula Comparison for fast and reliable results

The OXITEST method and the Formula Comparison for fast and reliable results
The OXITEST method is an internationally recognised analytical technique for determining the oxidation stability of foods, fats and oils.

Oxidation stability tests performed with the OXITEST reactor accelerate the oxidation process, which under normal conditions can take weeks or months, and provide fast and accurate results.

The OXITEST accelerates the oxidation process by means of two factors: temperature and oxygen pressure, without requiring preliminary fat extraction.

The instrument measures the absolute pressure variation within each of the two chambers and automatically generates an IP value, which indicates the time it takes to reach the oxidation start point. The longer the induction period, the greater the oxidation stability over time.

The 'Formula Comparison' option enables different formulas of the same sample to be tested under the same conditions, identifying the most stable one.

The results obtained clearly discriminate between the different oxidative stabilities of OLE-containing and non-OLE-containing biscuits.

Enhancing food industrial by-products in supporting a circular economy

Food by-products play a key role in the circular economy. We also talked about them in this article.

Contact us and find out how the VELP Oxitest reactor makes it possible to valorise them, as they are rich in antioxidant properties, to achieve positive effects on the shelf life of finished products.

 
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