3rd place
S.E.E.D
Tomato is one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables in the worlds. As a seasonal fruit, a relatively small amount of fresh tomato is consumed while the major proportion of tomatoes is processed into juice, paste, ketchup, etc. During tomato processing, tomato pomace (TP) is generated as by-product with 44% and 66% being the respective proportion of tomato seeds and peels on dry basis. It was estimated that 5.4-9 million tons of TP was generated annually in the world, especially in Italy, Spain, Turkey. Currently, TP is mainly used as animal feed or discharged as landfill. However, this TP stream contains various highly valuable ingredients with impressive nutritional and functional properties that can be valorized for further profit such as dietary fiber, protein, healthy fat, antioxidants. Our vision is to contribute to global health by providing sustainable ingredients with enhanced functionalities from sources potentially considered waste by the food processing industry.
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