According to refed, in 2019 35% of food in the united states went unsold or uneaten, contributing 4% of the total U.S. Greenhouse gas emissions and lost revenue of $408 billion (2% of the U.S. GDP)

This represents both an environmental issue and a missed opportunity for increasing revenue for fruit and vegetable producers. After an extensive analysis of the issue, refed identified 'maximizing product utilization' as one of their top 10 action areas for reducing food waste. They have estimated that upcycling these ingredients has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.8 million metric tons of CO2. There is critical need for a solution that can address this problem by using a sustainable solution that can transform food waste into a nutritionally-relevant consumable. In this sbir project, our focus is to reduce the harmful effects of food waste by transforming a current waste stream (fruit pomace) or commodity product into a value-added ingredient that delivers concentrated nutrition to consumers. Our patented vitero™ technology capitalizes on an energy-efficient, economical and sustainable technology (continuous microwave-assisted extraction), which is able to extract high concentrations of residual biologically-active health protective compounds from pomaces without the need for any solvent besides water. These valuable polyphenolic compounds are then complexed with high quality edible proteins in an efficient process to produce stably bound protein-polyphenol colloidal aggregate particles (ingredients) which have versatility for multiple applications in soft-solid foods and beverages. In our phase II work, we plan to test that hypothesis by deploying our continuous flow microwave-assisted extraction system on a trial basis to a fruit and vegetable ingredient manufacturer that currently generates 15 million pounds of apple, blueberry, and concord grape pomace (with further quantities of cherry, cranberry, and other pomaces available). The vitero™ ingredient will be tested in several end-product forms (exercise paste, gummies, and retail protein powder). The finished exercise paste will be tested in a human clinical trial at the plants for human health institute in order to show efficacy for exercise-recovery. Simultaneously, the ingredient will undergo shelf life testing, sensory testing, and a series of other physical and chemical tests that will make IT ready to be sold as a large-scale commercial ingredient into major food companies who have extensive due diligence requirements. The vitero™ ingredients are a strengthened and stabilized version of their individual parts, helping to protect these compounds from degradation through environmental factors such as oxidation. This technology allows for valuable health-promoting and disease-preventing compounds derived from nature to be concentrated into a convenient, bioavailable protein matrix. This represents an entirely new approach to handling this market, by recognizing the value in what is normally wasted.