State of Tyrol supports upcycling project with organic apples

New research project in research area Food Science & Biotechnology

The production of organic apple juice produces a large amount of apple pomace every year. Valuable antioxidants, pectins and waxes are lost in the process. Four Tyrolean companies want to research the usability of the ingredients in the next one and a half years. The state of Tyrol supports the initiative with innovation funding.

Regional added value

A research budget of 218,000 euros - including the state grant - is available. The companies involved each invest their own funds in the project. "Our goal is to use the valuable press residues of organic apple juice sensibly and regionally", explains BIO from BERG managing director Björn Rasmus. Tyrol's independent producer brand sees the research work as adding value to apple juice production. The idea arose in 2019 on the basis of an EU project.

Exemplary Tyrolean cooperation

As a regional research institute, the MCI coordinates the project. The Tyrolean cooperation partners BIO vom BERG, Hollu Systemhygiene GmbH and Cura Marketing GmbH want to make the raw materials usable in the cosmetics and cleaning sector. "We will generate regional added value with the sustainable upcycling of raw materials," explains Julia Mösslacher PhD, Head of Innovations at the Innsbruck company Cura Marketing. Dr. Marco Rupprich, Head of Innovation at Hollu Systemhygiene, adds: "Our aim is to bring about health and well-being through innovative hygiene solutions. The project is based on a large number of the 17 UN sustainability goals that we have anchored in our strategy".

Promising results

The process of converting apple pomace into usable raw materials is already working in the laboratory. This theoretical knowledge is to be transferred in the coming months. This requires practical tests and further intensive research work. "We have to pay particular attention to extracting the ingredients carefully from the press residue," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Katrin Bach from MCI. The team is currently collecting the marc from the first ORGANIC from the BERG apple harvest of the year. The cosmetics and cleaning companies then check the effect of the raw materials obtained from them. Over the next 18 months, the MCI analyzes the ingredients for applicability and marketability.

If you want to find out more about the project, please contact us:

Katrin Bach
Head of Department & Studies
Food Technology & Nutrition 
+43 512 2070 – 3811
katrin.bach@mci.edu