Motivation
The waste generated along the entire food chain (‘from farm to fork’) is huge. An estimated amount of 88 million tons in EU alone. Food waste constitutes a major loss of resources contributing to climate change, and causing considerable economic impact.
Harvesting and processing inevitably generates agro-industrial residue such as non-compliant seeds and crops. Yet, this side stream is still rich in valuable compounds like proteins, fibers and bioactive compounds.
In PROLIFIC we research cascading processes to extract those substances from peas, chickpeas, fungi and coffee, and bring them back as every-day life products: protein rich bread, cosmetic ingredients and functional packaging material.
PROLIFIC at a glance
Project ambition
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Extract compounds of nutritional value, bio-activity and structural function from agro-industrial sidestreams to meet the increasing market demand
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Replace mineral-oil based polymers with biodegradable molecules and bio-based alternatives in packaging materials;
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Valorise agro-food sidestreams and thus increase overall efficiency from arable land without compromising food production.
Working approach
A highly integrated work plan to repurpose
agro-industrial side-streams and develop
new bio-based value chains
