Chemists tap into vegetable waste for valuable flavour, colour extracts (ABC)

View Comments ABC University of Tasmania researchers Matthew Gregory and Dugald Close extract beetroot colour in a lab.

Australian researchers are investigating how to divert vegetable waste from the compost bin and instead use it to make natural perfumes and food additives.

The Tasmanian and Queensland scientists, experts in plant chemistry, are working to extract taste, aroma and colour from Australian vegetables, fruit and nuts.

University of Tasmania associate professor Dugald Close leads the team of scientists using new extraction technologies to get the most out of the raw materials.

In his laboratory, his colleagues have extracted aroma from blackcurrants and colour from beetroot.

"Some products may be used in perfumes, aroma products, others are more around the flavour of the extract that may go into processed foods," he said.

"We could be spawning, or helping to support and develop a whole new industry here in Tasmania, and also wider Australia."

The researchers are looking into the amount of waste product that is available and the consistency of supply.

One business that could benefit is Houston's, a Tasmanian vegetable and salad grower based east of Hobart.

Houston's has taken advantage of the area's temperate climate and has crops in the ground all year round.

Kale, spinach, rocket put to better use?

But not all of their produce makes it onto plates and into pantries, and the farm is looking for ways to use some of its kale, spinach, rocket and lettuce.

"There's certainly a lot of the little baby leaves that we grow that we think that we can find some different uses for," farm spokeswoman Allison Clark said.

Food scientist Hazel MacTavish-West is working with the researchers and businesses to turn their ideas into reality.

Dr MacTavish-West, who has just returned from the United Kingdom, says the market worldwide is moving towards products which use high-value extracts - partly because of stricter labelling laws on product.

She says waste from horticulture businesses can be as much as 30 per cent of their produce or even more.

And she believes Australia - particularly Tasmania - can benefit by putting more of its by-products to good use.

"We know here we have a clean, green, growing environment and the produce is naturally higher in many of the things that give it that value," she said.

The research is funded for this year, but there is hope it might continue, so the team can see their extracts turn into marketable products.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/23924548/chemists-tap-into-vegetable-waste-for-valuable-flavour-colour-extracts/