The invention refers to a new olive oil dressing, Tolly®, produced by co-milling olives and tomato by-products, naturally rich in lycopene and other carotenoids.
| Patent title | A method and system for the production of an olives - and tomatoes - based dressing naturally rich in antioxidants |
|---|---|
| Thematic area | Bioeconomy, Agriculture and Environment |
| Ownership | ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA |
| Inventors | Eleonora Iaccheri, Federica Tesini, Annachiara Berardinelli, Tullia Gallina Toschi, Luigi Ragni, Alessandra Bendini |
| Protection | Italy |
| Licensing status | Available for development agreements, option, license and other exploitation agreements |
| Keywords | Olive oil, tomato, co-milling, antioxidants, carotenes, phenolic compounds, tocopherols |
| Filed on | 06 June 2018 |
According to the principles of the circular economy, the exploitation of food industries by-products represents a fundamental step in reducing waste. Furthermore, the food market is substantially receptive to new foods with beneficial health properties. Thus, building on previous experience of the research group related to the exploitation of food industry by-products and analysis of fat substances, some tests on olive and tomatoes by-products co-milling have been carried out. The main aim of these tests was to verify the transfer of lycopene, β-carotene and other carotenes and carotenoids, present in tomato by-products, into a lipid matrix extracted from the olives.
The invention stems from the desire to transfer, through a mechanical-physical process, a large part of the content of lycopene, β-carotene and other carotenes and carotenoids present in tomatoes by-products into a lipid matrix extracted from olives. The application of the proposed technology makes it possible to produce virgin oil naturally enriched in bioactive compounds. This product combines the nutraceutical properties of carotenoids from tomatoes by-product and those originating from virgin olive oil. The product, which is a dressing obtained by co-milling of olives and tomatoes by-products, such as peels and seeds, possesses and preserves the sensorial and nutritional positive characteristics of a virgin olive oil of olive. Furthermore, the dressing is characterized by additional properties related to the presence of minor bioactive components typically present in tomato (specifically lycopene and β-carotene).
The invention allows, on the one hand, the recovery and re-use of a by-product (in this case tomato peels and seeds), on the other, the enrichment of a food industry product (virgin olive oil) generally considered nutraceutical, adding new interesting compositional characteristics (bioactive compounds).
The dressing obtained from the co-milling of olives and tomato derivatives, naturally rich in lycopene and β-carotene, differs from other vegetable oils enriched in bioactive compounds (eg vitamin E, vitamin D) as these are obtained by adding molecules (synthetic or extracted with chemical-physical processes) to the oil matrix.
The main advantage is the supply of the tomato derivatives, which would be low-cost and would allow the exploitation of these by-products. Further advantages:
a) use of tomato industry by-products, such as peels and seeds, which are usually discarded or biodegraded, with loss of biologically active compounds;
b) obtaining of a dressing, based on olive oil, but enriched with tomato bioactive compounds, therefore characterized by different compositional properties with respect to general virgin olive oil.
The technology is mainly addressed to millers or companies engaged in producing and distributing vegetable oils.