THE CHALLENGE: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REST OF THE FRUIT?

Every time an orange is squeezed or a pomegranate is pressed, a large part of the fruit is left over: peels, seeds, pulp. In the Mediterranean, one of Europe’s great fruit-growing regions, much of this is discarded. Yet these leftovers contain natural compounds, including antioxidants, that are good for our health. Throwing them away wastes food, money and nutrition.

Small producers and food companies often lack the know-how and the networks to put these materials to work. Greece and Malta also have fewer research and innovation resources than many other EU countries, a gap the EU is working to close.
 

GENTLE TECHNOLOGY, SHARED EFFORT:

EXCEL4MED asks a simple question: can citrus and pomegranate leftovers become safe, tasty and nutritious food ingredients, and can the whole fruit chain, from growers to shoppers, benefit?

To find out, the consortium uses “green” extraction methods. These are environmentally friendly techniques that use short electric pulses, sound waves and fast-moving liquids to release valuable compounds from peels and seeds. The extracts are then added to everyday foods: a goat’s-milk yoghurt-style dessert, a Feta-style cheese, smoothies and jellies. Everything is tested first in the laboratory and then on a larger, pilot scale.

The science does not happen in isolation. The project follows a “Quadruple Helix” approach: researchers, businesses, public authorities and citizens work together as partners. The project is coordinated by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and its partners have been working together since January 2023.
 

THE OBJECTIVES:

• Build local innovation networks in Greece and Malta, with links to France, that turn research into products.
• Create joint strategies and investment plans for food processing.
• Test the new technologies and foods in pilot projects.
• Open up business opportunities, especially for small and medium-sized companies.
• Train researchers, entrepreneurs and professionals, and make the region more attractive to young talent.
   

RESEARCH THAT IS SHARED, NOT SHELVED:
 

EXCEL4MED treats openness as part of the work itself.

• Public reports, journal articles, conference papers, posters, videos and podcasts are collected on the project website, and research outputs are also shared in the project’s community on Zenodo.
• Summaries and presentations are available in English, French, Italian, Turkish, Spanish and/or Greek.
• Citizens are invited to workshops and tasting events, and the project plans “living labs” where people from different backgrounds test ideas together.
• Partners swap places through staff exchanges and are writing practical handbooks so that other regions and companies can reuse what the project learns.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED, AND WHAT IS STILL TO COME:

Already achieved:

• Green extraction methods have been tested in the lab and at pilot scale on citrus and pomegranate by-products.
• Early tests found that foods enriched with the extracts offered better functional value and a longer shelf life than comparison products.
   

Still ahead:

• Scaling the technologies up to industrial level needs more work, and these results are not yet products on the shelf.
• If the project succeeds, farmers and food companies could gain new income from material they once discarded, consumers could gain healthier foods, and the environment could gain from less waste. Policymakers would gain evidence for supporting a more circular, resilient food system.
• Key outcomes, such as the handbooks, the living labs and the partnerships built along the way are meant to outlast the project itself.