Development of a new technology for production of black garlic with programmed functional properties

The implementation of the operation, as a result of which the black garlic processing plant will be built, is to support the agricultural sector not only in the economic, but also in the social sphere, food safety, protection of the natural and social resources, employment, proper waste management, and sustainable agriculture.

• The project aims to obtain an innovative product, which is black garlic, and will gain an advantage over the competition as a result of the improvement of fermentation technology by ultrasonic treatment and storage at room temperature in the pre-phase, which is expected to significantly reduce the time of the entire process.
• The advantage of the developed solution will be the possibility of its use throughout the country, as well as abroad, in smaller and larger farms and processing plants. The production of black garlic will be low-carbon and environmentally friendly. 
•  The solutions assumed throughout the project will translate into the achievement of many beneficial effects for the environment, including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reduction of electricity consumption, water saving, use of solar energy, reduction of the use of chemicalization of food, minimization of the use of non-ecological packaging.
• As a result of the implementation of the assumed solutions, production costs will be minimized while profits from sales will be obtained. 

Development and implementation of an improved technology for the production of the so-called black garlic produced by subjecting garlic to the Maillard process and obtaining a product with a high content of substances with health-promoting attributes.

Project involves the cooperation of two scientific institutions, the enterprise, the farmer and agricultural consultancy, the result of which will be the development and implementation of the production of black garlic produced in an optimized and shortened production process as a result of ultrasonication and storage of garlic at room temperature before the main fermentation process.

The purpose of the operation is to obtain black garlic produced in an innovative pilot installation for garlic fermentation designed with the use of advanced energy-saving technology.  

Project activities

1. Creation of a prototype installation to carry out technological tests of the production of black garlic using various pre-treatment conditions.
2. Design and practical application of a pilot plant, characterized by the possibility of using ultrasonication before the main process, and during the fermentation itself the possibility of adjusting the process conditions.
3. Optimization and shortening of the production process, including calibration of equipment to obtain black garlic with a high content of health-promoting substances as a result of sonication and storage of garlic at room temperature before the main fermentation process.
4. Testing the physical properties and chemical composition of the product manufactured under various process conditions, including biologically active substances and Maillard products. 
5. Introducing the product to the market at a competitive price, thanks to the reduction of production costs, with the help of online sales, introducing the product to retail chains, with the use of ecological packaging.

The main benefits of the project

The benefits that will result from planned project are the product, which is black garlic made from Polish varieties of garlic.

• The target group of the innovative product is the average consumer of food products.
• Garlic has always been used as a spice.
• If the price of black garlic is affordable, and this is the expected result of the operation, black garlic can easily replace fresh garlic in dishes, as it is milder in taste, less intense in smell and milder for people with digestive problems, and its health-promoting attributes are many times higher.
• Black garlic can be used not only in gastronomy. The sale of black garlic will also be directed to pig and poultry producers, due to its antibacterial and antioxidant properties, which can be used in animal nutrition.
• The benefits of the operation are primarily for consumers of food products, who will be offered a product with health-promoting attributes at a favourable and competitive price, but also for farmers and black garlic producers, who will be able to use the innovative technology of black garlic production on their farms and enterprises.

Practice summary

1. The production of black garlic will consist of a process, starting from the field, with careful preparation of the material, followed by proper drying, sorting, storage and, in the final phase, fermentation.
2. Fermentation will take place in a pilot installation designed by scientists from the Lodz University of Technology for the production of black garlic with the use of modern technology and devices that reduce energy consumption (up to 5 times lower energy consumption through the use of a heat pump), ready to be transferred to a wider application in agricultural processing.
3. The product will be black garlic with a high content of substances with health-promoting properties and high sensory properties: milder taste and smell, color, texture, consistency. Based on the well-established cooperation between the manufacturer and scientists from the Medical University of Lodz, each batch of the product obtained in the designed pilot installation on a production scale will be tested, thanks to which an innovative standardized product with proven health-promoting properties will be introduced to the market.
4. The results of the research, and the publications based on them, will allow to systematize knowledge about the processes occurring during the production of black garlic using a method that accelerates the fermentation process.
5. Thanks to the implementation of the operation, it will be possible to transfer the technology to a wider application, thanks to which the garlic production and processing industry will develop.
6. The health benefits of black garlic are very wide, so it will be possible to use black garlic not only in gastronomy, but perhaps in animal husbandry or plant cultivation.
7. It is assumed that the innovations implemented under the "Black Gold" project will contribute to the development of farms and processing, and will be a driving force and inspiration for further initiatives and innovations.    

Additional comments

Consultations with the agricultural community, especially with garlic producers, customers and managers of grocery supermarket chains and health food stores, have shown the need to develop an innovative technology for the production of black garlic in a significantly shortened process, which would reduce production costs and allow for the sale of black garlic from Polish plantations at lower prices.

The domestic market is flooded with garlic of foreign origin, both fresh and black.  In order to support Polish garlic producers in their development and sales opportunities, an innovative technology for the production of black garlic will be developed in a pilot fermentation plant, which can be transferred for wider use in other production farms.