More than 30 per cent of all edible produce never makes it to our supermarket shelves, due to "aesthetic rejection" - being ugly - or ripening at an inconvenient time (WIRED 03.16). Read more: 9 startups helping to save 1.3 billion tonnes of wasted food
But Bremen-based food engineering startup FoPo has a smart solution: transform the fruit into a powder. "Freeze-drying retains up to 90 per cent of nutrients," says co-founder Adriana Balazy, 26. "This results not only in high retention of the nutritional value, but also preserves the intensive flavour and colour of the food."
Four apples or three bananas, dried and powderised, can make 100g of FoPo's concentrated flavour powder. The process, Balazy says, extends the food's shelf life from two weeks to two years, and can be used in a range of cooking - from smoothies and sauces to baked goods.
Balazy and her co-founders - Vita Jarolimkova, Gerald Perry Marin, Erliza Cabisidan and Kent Ngo - founded FoPo in 2015. "First, we identify a significant source of waste and build a local supply chain," explains Jarolimkova. "Second, we find local partners who share the same values: decreasing food waste and improving the livelihood of local communities. Third, we look for places where we can have direct impact on the farmers and increase their income."
After two years of developing its production process, the company is now moving into full-scale commercial operation. Initial locations include Israel, where FoPo is rescuing bananas, avocados, apples and olives, and the Philippines, where it will focus on mangoes, pineapples and limes. In Kenya, the company is working with a local exporter to establish a solar-drying facility that will preserve one tonne of mangoes every day, sourced from a network of more than 100 farmers. "If we process all available fruits in our current supply chains, [we can produce] about 40 tonnes of powder per year," says Balazy. Consider it fighting waste, but tastefully.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
