PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
There is a growing global challenge of food waste all along the food production chain. Estimates suggest that 1.3 billion tons of food (i.e. a third of all food produced) are lost annually throughout the value chain. Depending on the geographical region, 25-65% of the municipal waste stream may be comprised of food materials, which equates to 173 kg per person per year in Europe. Each year, 88 million tonnes of food waste are generated in the EU, costing an estimated €143 billion. The food production industry is a major CO2 emitter, responsible for a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and agriculture uses huge amounts of land, water and fertilizer, while contributing to eutrophication, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. Food waste alone generates about 8% of global GHG emissions. Thereby, by reducing food loss and food waste, the unnecessary environmental impact can be reduced.
OBJECTIVES
The overall goal of the LIFE RE:FOOD project is to demonstrate a new, innovative recycling process for food waste (oat and wheat processing bio-waste), which can be used to produce a number of different food products.
The project’s objectives are to:
- Scale-up and validate the production process of a vegan fungi-based protein ingredient using side-streams as the main feedstock in the process;
- Demonstrate and validate a sustainably and locally produced food product made using bio-waste to consumers and food producers;
- Disseminate the project´s results both in Europe and globally.
The project proposal is directly related to the following EU policies:The 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP), Waste Framework Directive (2018/851), EC’s Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (COM(2011) 571), EU action plan for the Circular Economy (COM (2015) 614 final)and Waste Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC)
RESULTS
Expected results:
The main result from the LIFE RE:FOOD project will be the pilot demonstration of how bio-waste (food waste) can be removed from food production streams to be recycled, via an innovative fermentation process to new food products.
- Waste from Berte Qvarn AB (currently 15 000 tons oat residues and 35 000 tons wheat residues per year) will be used, which are currently going to animal feed or burnt for energy. During the project, up to 300 tons of Berte Qvarn’s side streams will be instead transformed into a valuable food product, leading to a waste reduction of 0.2%.
- Up to 400 tons of the new food product will be produced and tested in the project. The potential sales value of the resulting food product will be at least 10-fold higher compared to the current solution (animal feed).
- The fungi fermentation process also results in a product that has less environmental impact than comparable products.
During the project implementation, the following savings are expected:
- 945 630 m3 (315 210 m3/year) - a decrease of 95% water if substituting all produced Promyc (130 m3/t) for soybean (2 500 m3/t), the closest comparable commercial protein.
- 258 t (86 t/year) CO2 if substituting all produced Promyc (0.84 t/t) for soybean (1.49 t/t), the closest comparable commercial protein - a decrease of 44%.
The project will also include the following results:
- A life cycle analysis (LCA) showing the environmental benefits of the system in comparison to today’s situation
- Validation of a model for local and circular food production with optimal resource utilization and minimal waste creation that can be replicated all over Europe in similar food-cluster settings as in Falkenberg.
- Distribution of the project's results to stakeholders within the European food and waste management industries.
