Scientists put bergamot waste to use in juices

A study indicates that bergamot juice could be used to fortify fruit juice in place of synthetic additives, opening up a potential new use for a by-product of the essential oil industry.

 Bergamot (Citrus Bergamia Risso) is a
natural hybrid of bitter orange and lemon. It is grown almost
exclusively in the Reggio Calabria region of Southern Italy. Annual
production is around 25,000 tonnes, most of which is used for the
production of essential oil from the skins.

While the essential oil is used by the
pharmaceutical, cosmetics industries and food industries (its primary
food use is as an aroma for confectionery, liquors and tea), the
juice is considered a waste product.

Its bitter taste has precluded the
juice from food industry uses in the past, and its disposal
represents a big economic and environmental burden.

But Rita Pernice and colleagues from
the University of Naples believe that juice could actually be used to
fortify other, commonly consumed, fruit juices with additional
flavonoids and to prevent the thermal degradation of ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) during processing.

The addition of bergamot juice to
juices preserves their ascorbic acid content from thermal degradation
and contributes to enhance the antioxidant activity, ensuring a
product much richer in antioxidants and ascorbic acid.