Reuse of food waste from the olive oil industry, with greater expression at an economic, environmental and social level.

Polyphenols are micronutrients that have antioxidant – that is, they delay cell aging and prevent the damaging action of free radicals –, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties. The polyphenols can be found in foods such as green tea, cereals, vegetables, fruits and olives, from which pure olive oil is made.

Food Balance promotes the efficient use of moist olive pomace from two-phase mills so as to counter the current approach (waste to energy), mitigate the impact on the environment caused by the present practice and also to add commercial value to this byproduct. Recover the natural antioxidant compounds present in residues from olive oil extraction is of particular importance since it allows adding economic value to the industry, given the high market price of these compounds and the high demand from the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. The specific and growing interest in these compounds is due to the excellent properties they present in that they are able to prevent lipid oxidation in foods and inhibit oxidation reactions in biological systems, thus preventing and treating many diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and others.

The extraction of polyphenols is followed by strategies for refining the remaining residual fraction into biopolymers and enzymes that are important for the industry. Another alternative is bioconversion of the residual fraction into fertilizers or into animal feed that benefits from the incorporation, a plausible destination when the market does not value higher added value products.