Secondment of Cecilia Fiorentini from Universita’ Cattolica Sacro Cuore (Italy) to A&R House (UK) (4th October-6th November 2018)

Thanks to the Fodiac project I could spend a month abroad in a real company (A&RHouse, Bleadon Village, UK) that produces ingredients with high added value from food by-products. This is a subject that I dealt with in my master’s thesis and during my research grant and thanks to this experience I could better understand how the whole process takes place on an industrial scale.
During this experience, I could conduct some trials of enzymatic and drying treatment at different temperatures on wet cider apple pomace and blackcurrant pomace. After the trials, the content of polyphenols, total, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre were assessed, together with the best drying temperature in order to preserve the antioxidant activity of the sample.


Moreover, during this month I had the opportunity to visit the famous Cider Factory Thatchers in Sandford (Somerset BS25 5RA); this is the same company that presses blackcurrant and gives A&R House the related pomace.


This important experience enabled me meet very friendly people and above all made me learn a lot about this topic.