How would you like to dig into a “recycled” snack? Or take a swig of juice with “reprocessed” ingredients made from other food byproducts? Without the right marketing, these don’t sound like the most appetizing options.
Enter “upcycling.” That’s the relatively recent term for the age-old concept of using low-valued foods or food processing byproducts to generate new food products. Time-honored examples of this concept include sausages made from meat scraps and jams or jellies made from overripe fruit. In many cases, this waste would have otherwise been used as animal feed or sent to the compost pile.
Massive Amounts of Food Get Wasted
Globally, more than one-third of all current food production will be lost or wasted somewhere between the farm or ranch and the consumer’s garbage can. Food “losses” may be due to improper handling or storage conditions on the farm or in the food distribution process, whereas food “waste” often results from limited retail shelf life or consumers simply not making use of perishable products before they spoil in the fridge.Peels, Shells, and Past-Their-Prime Ingredients
From an economics standpoint, finding market outlets for otherwise wasted products makes sense, and the food industry recognizes that fact. Much of what’s left over as waste once a food is processed contains valuable nutritional components, even though it’s currently only used for animal feed or just thrown away. Fortunately, current laws require animal feed to be treated the same as human food, so many waste streams are already handled using sanitary practices and are safe for human consumption.A number of economically viable upcycled products are currently on the market. Fruit pomace—all the fibrous bits left after fruit juice production—bolsters the flavor and nutritional content of snack foods. Wheat middlings—everything left after milling that’s not flour—are added to breakfast cereals to increase the content of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Whey protein from cheese production increases the protein content of health bars and protein shakes.
Ideas for new upcycled products come from researchers within our facility who identify a waste stream with untapped potential, or they originate with an entrepreneur who has a product idea. Either way, interdisciplinary teams here brainstorm ideas, create experimental prototypes, and eventually conduct sensory evaluations—addressing the look, taste, aroma, or texture of a potential new product.
One recent example is the creation of a new snack chip from brewer’s spent grain, the solid waste generated in the beer-brewing industry. Another current project is the creation of Kpomo. Also known as Ponmo or Kanda in Nigeria, where it’s traditionally popular, this food is made from beef hide that’s been cleaned and precooked.