Researcher: Pomace full of promise

(CapitalPress) - An Oregon State University researcher is looking for unique ways to use grape pomace. Among the materials she's developed so far are a biodegradeable plant pot, a food coating and a food additive.

It’s hard to imagine a rigid 4-by-4-inch tile that smells like a Fruit Roll-Up as the next big thing in viticulture, but an Oregon State University researcher says it could be.

Yanyun Zhao, a value-added food products specialist with the OSU Extension Service, has recently developed new uses for grape pomace — the skins, pulp, seeds and stems. The U.S. wine industry produces 4 million tons of wine grape waste each year.

Her research has focused on developing an array of technology that uses waste and increases the value of crops like grapes, pears and cranberries grown in the state.

“For me, it’s about helping the industry and people to find more value-added applications and researching discoveries — especially helping Oregon industry,” she said.

That possibility has gotten the attention of the wine industry.

“To the extent that wineries have excess pomace and the ability to sell or convert it to profitable products, there would seem to be a place for pomace products,” Nancy Light, Wine Institute vice president of communications, said in an email.

Zhao said the scented board-like tiles, which can be formed into biodegradable products like plant pots, are just one potential use for pomace.

Grape growers could also benefit by drying pomace on-site and grinding it into a powder that could be used to enhance yogurt or salad dressing.

“Why add it to yogurt?” Zhao asked. “Yogurt doesn’t have dietary fiber, but it has milk, meaning it has some sugar and the pomace can protect that from breaking down.”

Another possible use for pomace is using it as a food additive, she said.

It is high in polyphenols, known in food and medical industries as antioxidants, which act as a preserving agent by reducing cell damage that occurs when oxygen reacts with compounds like lactose, Zhao said.

For consumers, antioxidants can mean better health.