Upcycling breathes new life into food waste

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has estimated that up to one third of all food produced globally goes to waste.

But in spite of global initiatives to reduce waste, the researcher said there was still a gap between the amount of food waste being generated and the number of storage and recycling facilities able to process it.

Overall, key emerging opportunities are expected to be in the extraction of edible ingredients from food waste, conversion of misshapen fruits to saleable products, and conversion of byproducts from food production

Lekshmy Ravi, Frost & Sullivan's TechVision research analyst

A recent report on food waste management (FWM) and opportunities from Frost & Sullivan found that the most popular practises were composting and anaerobic digestion.

However, these do not help salvage unspoilt food from the food waste, and can be energy intensive, it said.

This translates to significant opportunities for the development of alternative FWM technologies.

“Currently, there is a demand for technologies that can convert food unfit for human consumption to animal feed,” said Frost & Sullivan’s TechVision research analyst Lekshmy Ravi.

“Technology developers are simultaneously working on repackaging or repurposing food waste to food for human consumption using less energy-intensive solutions and employing novel management models.”

The researcher said there are also numerous research and industry initiatives for the conversion of food waste to products such as plastics, fruit juices and food ingredients. Others are seeking to convert food waste to liquid fuels.

“Overall, key emerging opportunities are expected to be in the extraction of edible ingredients from food waste, conversion of misshapen fruits to saleable products, and conversion of byproducts from food production,” said Ravi.

One such example is a UK company called Snact, which is targeting food waste by repurposing surplus produce to create a ‘fruit jerky’ snack.

The company announced this week it had successfully closed a seed investment round with European investment bank, ClearlySo.

By producing snacks from fruit and vegetables that otherwise get rejected in the UK for being too big, too small, too ugly, or simply too abundant, Snact forecasts it will save 50 tonnes of food this year.

“Snact has developed a unique product, brand and identity that not only demonstrates great commercial potential but effectively highlights the issues around food wastage in the UK and abroad,” said Mike Cowell, investment manager at ClearlySo.

“It is fantastic to see this clearly resonate with customers and investors, including angels from the food and marketing industries.”