Fruit waste provides antioxidant source

During the production of pre-packaged fruit and juices, portions such as the skin are often unused. Some fruit by-products are currently used in animal feed, but most often they are sent as waste for disposal.

Now, Dr Said Ajlouni and PhD student Wei Wei Tow from the Melbourne School of Land and Environment are working with Dr Robert Premier, technical manager at Salad Fresh, to put this waste material to good use.

’Fruit has long been known for its health benefits, partly as a good source of antioxidants − the chemical compounds, including some vitamins, that protect body cells from damage,’ Dr Ajlouni says. ’So we decided to investigate if fruit waste also had these properties.’

The team analysed tomato, apple, plum, peach, pear, grape and apricot waste, such as the skin, revealing them all to be good sources of antioxidants. For example, results from the tomato study revealed that, compared to tomato juice, tomato waste contains double the amount of lycopene, a bright red pigment found in fruits and vegetables, which also acts as an antioxidant.