R&D BOOST – AMEREX IN THE UP4HEALTH PROJECT
“This project has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 888003. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio Based Industries Consortium”
Hello everyone and welcome once again to our Blog. Today we are thrilled to announce our participation in a European project within the Horizon 2020 financing program! We would like to share the main highlights of this innovative, stimulating venture which is sure to give you inspiration and feasible ideas to apply in your own business…
Essentially, the European Up4Health project is based on the utilization of biomass generated in various processes in diverse industries such as wineries, oil mills and nut processing plants. The functional ingredients derived from these have multiple applications in various other industries like food, nutraceutical and cosmetics.
Within the scope of Up4health, besides making use of these residual, bioactive compound rich raw materials from the food sector, it also optimizes the value chain of productive industries by achieving the goal of ‘zero waste’-thus making the project highly sustainable, as well as innovative.
The aforementioned functional ingredients are the following: natural fruit water rich in polyphenols, dietary fiber rich in polyphenols, natural oily fruit extracts and prebiotic xylooligosaccharides. The applications in which these bioactive compounds can be used range from functional foods, such as meat products, healthy snack bars, soft foods for the elderly, drinkable solutions in the form of gel, olive oil, natural drinks, yogurt, to nutraceuticals supplements and even cosmetics.
Over the next 48 months, we will collaborate with nine organizations from five different countries to carry out this project successfully.
So, what specific role does Amerex play in Up4health? We will be conducting trials using certain polyphenols extracted from olive and grape fiber flour, with the aim of delaying the oxidative processes and thus increasing the shelf-life of the final products in food industry.
Ultimately, the main objectives are going to be: on one hand, maintaining the colour, avoiding oxidation and thus prolonging the shelf-life of the product. On the other hand, enhancing the food safety of the product which may be affected by the growth of spoilage microorganisms.
And how do we set about this task? In the initial phase, the necessary requirements for the functional ingredients such as sensory profile, microbiological safety and physical properties will be determined in order to fulfill the desired outcome, in line with the end consumer’s needs.
The role of Amerex alongside other partnering companies is to make sure that these requirements are well defined, as this will be the main determinant for the success of the project. We will execute this, headed by the UNIVERSITY OF VIGO, who will make certain that the appropriate biomass requirements and objectives are met owing to this collaboration.
We would like to greatly express our gratitude to ISANATUR SPAIN S.L. for trusting us with this amazing opportunity, and also to CONTACTICA S.L., for making this project possible.
We are eager to keep you updated in this matter, and hope it to be very soon. In the meantime…
Phone number: +34 91 845 42 14
