Over 3 million tonnes of olive oil is produced each year. This generates a massive amount of leftover solid waste, which is challenging to dispose of, as it is high in antimicrobial chemicals, salt, and fats. If untreated, this waste can disrupt soils and pollute waterways - but could we use it as a valuable raw material? Laura Nystrom, a professor of food biochemistry at ETH Zurich, is part of the European Food Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food project Phenoliva, which aims to turn olive waste into useful products. We asked Laura about what valuable components she can extract from olive waste, how they do it, how the components they recover can be put to good use. Why is olive waste - or pomace - a problem? Well, olive waste - known as pomace - is a problem because it contains a high level of phenolic 1. Olive waste, or pomace, is a problem because it contains phenolic compounds that can pollute soil an...