Brussels, 16/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - European research has discovered that tomato waste is full of untapped, nutritious goodness, and suggests how to make the most of it. Instead of using the excess tomatoes for animal feed or simply discarding them, the EU "TOM(ato)" project suggests using the tomato waste as a natural food additive. The EU budget for financing this project amounts to EUR 425,000 out of a total of EUR 861,000. Participants in the project include ten partners from the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Ireland and Portugal. Results of research are expected in April 2005.
Around 8.5 million tonnes of tomatoes are cultivated each year in Europe. Nearly 18% (1.5 million) are sold directly to consumers and the rest is processed into foods, such as ketchup, pasta sauce and canned goods. However, during processing, up to 40% of the raw material ends up as residue, mainly skin and seeds. This waste is an excellent source of substances rich in nutrients, such as carotenoids, proteins, sugars, fibre and oils.
The project is mainly aimed at developing new food additives and extracts from tomato processing industry leftovers. Before the residue can be converted into a high-value nutritional compound suitable for use in health-giving foodstuffs, the scientists found ways of removing impurities from the tomato sludge left after initial processing. Solvents have commonly been used for this, but they tend to be less effective and leave chemical traces. TOM researchers believe it is possible to produce a much purer compound extract by applying a two-fold cleaning process. First, they obtain a crude extract using the conventional but environmentally clean method of washing the tomato residue with water and supercritical CO2. Next, they use "affinity chromatography" to raise the quality of the extract to a level of 98% purity. As well as providing a new, nutrient-rich food additive, the process should cut, by up to 30%, the volume of residue generated in the tomato processing industry.