Bromelain is a raw enzyms extract obtained from pineapple and used as a food additive to tenderize the meat through protein digestion. Bromelin global market for the food sector is constantly growing. In Europe, an expand in demand for the nutraceutical and cosmetic fields is also expected.

Along with this is the pineapple transformation industry showing a strong grow. Pineapple is the second most cultivated fruit and its worldwide production doubled in the last ten years (from 12 to 25 millions metric tons). France is the leading producer in Europe and Reunion Island provides more than 50 % of the french production.

The transformation industry generates several by-products whose tonnages increase year after year. These underused by-products represents excellent new resources for high-added value products generation, like bromelain.

Since its creation, Bioval OI showed a strong interest to this pineapple by-products valorization problematic. Bioval OI aimed to develop a sustainable process without any petroleum based chemicals or high environmental impact steps. To this end, the company designed an ultrasound process to facilitate the bromelain extraction with high yield and reduced extraction time.