VALORISATION OF GRAPE MARC BY-PRODUCTS IN BEVERAGE INDUSTRY: THE CASE OF FORTIFIED GRAPE JUICE

Abstract

The difficulty facing the food industry in the future is sustainability, a topic that has received a lot of attention in recent years. The recovery, recycling, and valuing of food by-products is one of the many methods suggested to encourage the development of a sustainable food system. The most abundant sources of bioactive chemicals and byproducts that can be used to create new functional ingredients for foods are found in fruits and vegetables. In this paper, the possibility of using by-products of wine industry was evaluated. Grape marc, one of the wastes produced during wine-making process is typically not utilized. In particular, the red grape marc flour (15% and 20% w/w) was employed to enrich white grape juice following a sufficient drying and grinding procedure. Then, the grape juice fortified with red grape marc flour was subjected to ultrasound treatment with amplitude of 50 and 70% for 3 and 6 minutes. In comparison to control samples, the enriched products bioactive compounds and chromatic attributes, as well as acidity, soluble content and pH were assessed. Overall, the findings indicate that fortification of grape juice with by-products improved nutritional quality and chromatic attributes without compromising product acceptability. It is possible to conclude that these examples might serve as a starting point for utilizing industrial byproducts and developing viable food with beneficial properties in a more sustainable manner.