Back to
1998 is when I first started my adventure in Chemistry as a graduate student at
the University of Patras. Simultaneously, I started practicing oenology part-time
in our family chemical laboratory in Chania, analyzing samples of musts from
homemade winemaking. My work experience in fermentation processes was the spark
inspiring me to conduct my MSc studies in food biotechnology.
However, I
continued working with the chemical analysis of other foodstuffs such as olive
oil to determine it's quality or olive kernel/paste/mill wastewater samples to
optimize the quantitative and qualitative performance of the olive oil
production units.
When I came
back to my hometown in 2004, I was seeking new challenges beyond food analysis
and I found them at the Technical University of Crete. During this period, most
researchers of the School of Environmental Engineering were dealing with the
treatment of olive mill wastewater (OMW) targeting the diminution of its
organic load.
Having
daily contact with olive oil producers in our family lab, I quickly realized
that the proposed solutions for the treatment of OMW were not sustainable.
Olive oil is a sector challenged in many directions. Consumers demand extra virgin
olive oils of ultra high quality, the product's final price varies a lot from
time to time and local authorities demand from production units to reduce their
environmental impact. Under these conditions, even cheap solutions that promise
the total treatment of OMW may collapse financially in olive oil industries. On the other hand, the recovery of polyphenols
from olive processing by-products was a hype research objective in the middle
of 00s: some interesting articles were published and a couple of early efforts
were under commercialization. These
facts inspired me to conduct my Ph.D. for the recovery and the clarification of
organic constituents from OMW using physicochemical processes.
In particular, I started working with the
adsorption of olive polyphenols on Greek lignites as a part of a funded research
project on these materials. In 2006, I presented my first experimental results
in an international conference [Galanakis,
C.M., Dimou, D., Pasadakis, N., Papanicolaou, K., & Gekas, V. (2006). Adsorption
of olive mill wastewater on raw and activated Greek Lignites. Protection and
Restoration of the Environment VIII. 3-7 July, Chania, Greece].
My presentation did not have many fans in a
strictly environmental engineering audience. My early efforts were too
empirical and were lacking in the theoretical background. I stepped on the
podium and professors in the audience were laughing with my approach. I was so
disappointed feeling uselessness for my efforts. Almost two years already as a Ph.D.
student, and no real outcomes.
A few months later I visited Lund University in
Sweden as an Erasmus student, supervised by my mentor Eva Tornberg. The purpose
of my visit was to conduct experiments for the pre-treatment of OMW to remove
solids and macromolecules like proteins. We developed a simple methodology for
the simultaneous recovery of dietary fiber and polyphenols from OMW, in two
separated streams, namely an alcohol insoluble residue and an ethanolic
extract.
The proposed method attracted the interest of Forskarpatent
I Syd AB (a Swedish spinout commercialization Company), which subsequently
funded the edition, registration (28.02.2007) of the patent (WO/2008/082343). At
this point, my investigation turned to a double goal: developing applications
for both the dietary fiber and polyphenolic extracts. After obtaining the first laboratory results, I
decided to edit my first research articles. It took me 3 years and multiple
rejections in different scientific journals to publish my first ever paper.
Photo 1 shows my first attempt in making
meatballs with dietary fiber recovered from olive mill wastewater. They were
black and green, looking burned even prior to cooking. After cooking, they had
a metallic taste due to the very high potassium content of the crude extract
recovered from OMW. But, the fortification of meatballs with olive fiber was
able to improve the cooking properties of the product by restricting the oil
uptake and thereby giving rise to meatballs with sustained reduced fat content.
This technological property in combination with the innovative application gave
me my first publication of research article after 5 years
of effort.
Later on, I
clarified the fiber-rich extract from high potassium concentrations using a 25
kDa ultrafiltration membrane. The membrane was also able to partially remove
the heavier fragments of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and flavonols from a
phenol containing beverage that was simultaneously developed during my Ph.D. study.
This application resulted in one of the most cited
articles of Journal Food Engineering (within 2010-2015).
A couple of years later (in 2008), the
potential applications of the patent recognized by Lund University Innovation
systems AB that established a company (Phenoliv AB) in cooperation with the
inventors (Tornberg, E. and Galanakis, C. M.), funded the obtainment of patent
legal rights from Forskarpatent I Syd AB. This company tried to commercialize
olive polyphenols for different applications in foodstuff and consumer
products.
After finishing my Ph.D. in 2010, I focused on
Phenoliv AB. The company operated for 8 years (up to 2016). During this period,
we developed a pilot plant for the production of 40 Kg polyphenol-rich powder
from 2 tn of OMW. This product was investigated by fortifying different
products, e.g. chocolates, beverages, meat products, chips, vegetable oils,
bakery products, and cosmetics. Phenoliv AB was a great “school” as it allowed
me realizing that the distance between academia and real-world is long and that
there are many steps to make innovation happen.
In the same period, I continued my research
efforts aiming basically at processing bioresources, recovering different
functional ingredients from all kinds of food processing by-products, separating functional compounds
with membrane technology and finally fortifying foods and consumer
products.
Concerning recovery procedures, the first step was to
identify the conventional and emerging (basically non-thermal) technologies
used for the separation of valuable compounds in foods prior to integrating
them in a holistic methodology. The so-called "5-Stages Universal Recovery Process" was published in a review paper that became the most cited article published in
Trends in Food Science Technology within the period 2012-2017.
This methodology was initially designed to ensure
optimized management of the available technologies and recapture several kinds
of valuable compounds from any waste source. Thereafter, it was further
developed to a more general approach (the so-called "The Universal Recovery Strategy") that includes all the relevant information in
each case (e.g. wastes distribution, availability and production data,
microstructure, engineering aspects, safety and cost issues, scale-up and
commercialization aspects etc) for the designing of a particular application.
All this information was included in a relevant reference module and in my first edited book in 2015 entitled “Food Waste Recovery: Processing Technologies and
Industrial Techniques”.
Back in 2013, I realized that my vision cannot
be realized with spare actions and efforts, without bridging together all
researchers and experts in the field, without bridging the gap between industry
and academia, without transferring technical knowledge to stakeholders. This is
when I founded the Food Waste Recovery Group with the support of the ISEKI-Food Association. The group acts at the technological part of bioeconomy, helping
industries to estimate the potentiality of their food waste and convert them
into food by-products of commercial importance.
Within the last 6 years, we have initiated
numerous endeavors including the preparation of multiple scientific books, dealing with saving food actions, biobased industries and products, valorization of different food
processing by-products (e.g. from olive, grape, fruits, cereals, coffee, meat, etc.), sustainable food systems, innovations strategies in the food and environmental science, innovation in traditional foods, nutraceuticals and non-thermal
processing, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, shelf-life and food quality, and personalized nutrition. The group has also prepared books
dealing with food components like polyphenols, proteins, carotenoids, glucosinolates, dietary fiber, lipids and edible oils, as well as alternative food products, non-alcoholic drinks and others.
The group has also developed courses, training workshops, joint research efforts, and expert database and several news channels (social media pages, videos and blogs) for them
on time dissemination of knowledge. Our advisory department deals with (but not limited to) waste
valorization, bio-based product development and compounds recovery.
At the end of the last
year, I was included in 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list of Web of Science
Group. Working
part-time in research with negligible resources for more than a decade, being
placed under 40 years old in the World’s top 0.1% of most influential
scientists was beyond my dream expectations when I started my career.
What’s Up Next?
My vision is to contribute to #SAVEFOOD actions
and build a more sustainable future:
Food Waste Recovery. The continuous development of the Food Waste Recovery Group and its further establishment as the biggest open innovation network
worldwide in the particular field is of the highest priority. The ultimate goal
is to inspire related professionals to extract high added-value compounds from
wasted by-products in all stages of food production (from agriculture to the
consumer) and re-utilize them in the food chain. Through our management
consultancy, we provide insights all around the world, from Europe to the US,
Asia, Middle East and Oceania: wherever
food waste is generated and whenever the food industry is seeking answers.
Contributing to Future
European Bioeconomy. The updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy adopted in October 2018 aims to
develop a sustainable bioeconomy for Europe, strengthening the connection
between economy, society, and the environment. It addresses global challenges
such as meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United
Nations and the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement. After many years of effort,
the objectives of the Food Waste Recovery Group came at the forefront of the
European Agenda. The EU Green Deal will change Europe to a biobased,
climate-neutral and circular economy by 2050. We will stay dedicated to this vision
aiming at contributing to future European bioeconomy.
Intensifying Research and
Innovation Efforts. Building bridges between industry and academia, sustainability and
innovation, theory and practice is and always will be of primary importance.
Through the development of key collaborations such as this between Galanakis
Laboratories (Greece) and King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), we aim at
recovering valuable compounds from food processing by-products and other
bioresources prior utilizing them for the fortification of bakery, meat,
foodstuff, and other consumer products (e.g. cosmetics). Up to now, important
natural sources have been under-investigated. We are intensifying our efforts
to reveal opportunities for under estimated agricultural products and
by-products.
Never Stopped Serving
Local Producers and Enterprises. Serving the agri-food sector and the local
community is always my commitment. The main objective of Galanakis
Laboratories is the
provision of services to third parties in the field of chemical,
physicochemical and microbiological testing of wines, musts, beverages, olive
oils, olive kernels, foods, honey, waters, waste, soils and others. Chemical
and technical advice is also provided for these products, whereas we undertake
the preparation of environmental, chemical, industrial and techno-economic
studies.
