FDBusiness.com

Fruit and vegetable residues typically discarded in the manufacture of isotonic sports drinks could be a rich nutrient source for other foodstuffs like bars and biscuits, Brazilian researchers have found.

Orange, passion fruit, watermelon, lettuce, courgette, carrot, spinach, mint, taro, cucumber and rocket salad residues typically wasted in the drink’s production, were put to use in bars and biscuits with favourable  nutrient retention results over a 90 day shelf life except for sweet biscuits which developed mould after 30 days.

100 participants said they “slightly liked” the products – an average response of 6 out of 10.

The fruit and vegetable residues were formed into a flour which was then used in the bars and biscuits.

“The designed products presented high fibre content, reasonable consumer acceptance and were microbiologically stable,” concluded the researchers from the Department of Food Technology, Nutrition School, Food and Nutrition Master Program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

“This research promotes the reducing food waste since whole plant tissues have been used leading to the maximum exploitation of food raw materials.”