From Landfills to the Dinner Table: Red Grape Pomace Waste as a Nutraceutical for Broiler Chickens

The disposal of red grape pomace (GP) in landfills and by incineration has negative impacts on the environment. It is, therefore, imperative that alternative and sustainable ways of managing this waste product are identified. Using GP as a source of nutrients and beneficial bioactive compounds in avian diets is a potential waste-reduction and valorization strategy that promotes sustainable agriculture. However, there is limited information on the valorization of GP for this purpose. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of dietary inclusion of GP on growth performance, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and breast meat quality traits of broilers. Four hundred, two-week old Cobb 500 broilers (279.2 +/- 18.87 g) were allocated to 40 pens. Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were formulated by including GP in commercial broiler diets at 0 (GP0), 2.5 (GP25), 4.5 (GP45); 5.5% (GP55); and 7.5% (GP75). Feed intake, weight gain, feed utilization efficiency, hematology, serum biochemistry, carcass characteristics, and breast meat quality traits were measured. Chickens on GP75 had the least feed intake (p < 0.05) but there were no dietary effects on weight gain. Birds on GP0 had the highest (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (1.79) while those fed GP75 had the lowest (p < 0.05) ratio (1.45). Breast meat from broilers offered GP75 had the highest (p < 0.05) redness value (0.75) while the GP0 diet promoted the least (p < 0.05) redness value (0.49). Broilers fed GP55 and GP75 diets had higher (p < 0.05) feed conversion efficiency compared to GP0 birds. Inclusion of GP in broiler diets has the potential to reduce feed costs, thus making this valorization strategy a sustainable alternative to current pomace disposal methods. Adoption of this waste-reduction and valorization strategy promotes sustainable agriculture by contributing to food security and environmental stewardship.