INTERVIEW 74 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE September 2024 tion is industrial, modular and enables us to treat several thousand tons of raw material per month. The finished products are powders and particles in a wide range of grain sizes and textures. Our target audience are companies in the manufacturing sector wishing to distinguish themselves as innovators in sustainability. Upcycled fruit stone particles are truly multifunctional, especially as a biobased alternative to synthetic, allergenic or unsafe ingredients and additives. Besides food and feed, we cater to industries such as personal care, coatings, composites/bioplastics and other areas of material science. We know that you also supply the animal feed industry with plant-based ingredients. What are your plant-based ingredients for the feed industry? Could you tell us in which feeds and for what purposes these ingredients are used? Our number one ingredient is olive stone flour made from upcycled olive stones. It is a lignocellulosic material and becomes a fluid powder when it is micronized to a fine particle range. Olive stone flour looks and feels a bit like wheat flour, but it is a grain-free alternative to conventional flours, which are added as binders, texturizers or also as a source of carbohydrates, acting as dietary fibers and energy components in feeds. The product is free of wheat protein (gluten), which makes it suitable as anti-allergic food and feed ingredients, a parameter that has become particularly important in the pet food arena. Coming to the softer by-products of the olive - the peel, the seed, and the pulverized olive leaves - these are also sources of fibers, but, more importantly, they are rich in bioactive compounds, especially polyphenolics such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol. Those substances, which are powerful antioxidants, add numerous health benefits to feed products: anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects, improvement of cardiovascular health by reducing cholesterol levels, restorative effects on skin and digestive organs. Apart from the polyphenolics, these powders are also sources of plant-based proteins and vitamin E, which can be particularly interesting in applications where the manufacturer seeks to replace an animal protein such as fishmeal. What was the reason behind choosing olives as a bio-ingredient? Olives are available in large volumes throughout the Mediterranean region. They are a cherished staple food in many cultures and the tradition of olive oil even goes back to biblical times. Pressing the olive to obtain the oil produces hundreds of thousands of tons of by-products, i.e. pulp, peel and olive stones, every year. These leftovers are very valuable and should not go to waste. In addition, olive stone particles offer various technical benefits, for example a homogeneous particle shape, a long shelf life thanks to the minimal oil content and a neutral taste and smell. Moreover, the olive offers great potential for purely mechanical processing without the need for chemicals. The resulting powders are therefore a sustainable alternative to replace industrially manufactured cellulose, which has typically been added as a fiber component to reduce the content of fats and sugars and to make feed formulations more digestible. Could you elaborate on the difference between olive stone powder and other feed ingredients and the advantages/benefits of the ingredient for animals and farmers? As explained above, olive stones tick all the boxes with regard to sustainable manufacturing and technical parameters. No chemicals are required to separate the raw stones from pulp and shell. So, at the end of the process, we can still say that the stone, the seed, and the olive peel are still part of the edible olive. Making use of the olive oil by-products is also a way to support rural development. Our upcycling activity provides an additional source of income for the oil mills and respects the principles of a circular economy. In other words, all components of the olive are valorized in the best possible way without generating any waste.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==