Introduction
The global population is rapidly increasing, with projections pointing to a 56% shortage in food nutrition by 2050, fuelling concerns about food sustainability. The world’s population, which is currently 7.8 billion, is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030. Asia faces an even more significant challenge due to a combination of an aging population and a diabetes epidemic. These demographic changes have increased demand for plant-based proteins and low glycemic index (GI) or diabetic-friendly foods.
Food waste is a major issue worldwide, and Singapore is no exception. According to a report by the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore generated a huge 817,000 tonnes of food waste in 2021 alone, with more than 10% coming from spent grains produced by beer and malt producers. These spent grains are rich in protein and fibre, but they unfortunately, end up used as animal feed.
Although much of the food we eat is derived from plants, food that is high in nutrients such as protein and fibre tends to be expensive. This high cost is often due to the high extraction of plant proteins, fibre and other nutrients. Current food extraction methods, which involve excessive heat, solvents, and chemicals, further increase costs and decrease the nutritional value of the end product.
The Circular Food Economy
The food industry faces numerous challenges including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and waste management. The growing population and climate change are putting pressure on the global food system. The circular economy offers some solutions. The circular economy is defined as “a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution” by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation.
One way to address these issues is through the implementation of circular economy practices. Applying circular economy principles to the food industry can lead to a more sustainable food system by reducing waste and increasing resource efficiency. Examples include using sustainable packaging, waste-to-energy systems, and upcycling of food manufacturing waste.
Photo credit: Figure 2. Food supply chain areas of implementation of the circularity actions selected as case histories (authors’ elaboration), https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/7/3/43
Valorisation of food manufacturing waste is an advanced innovation that can be achieved through circular economy practices. Benefits include reduced environmental impact, increased resource efficiency, and economic growth.
What is Valorisation of Food Waste?
The NEA defines food waste valorisation as “the conversion of food waste or by-products into higher value products that contribute back to the food supply chain. This contributes to the circular economy approach where useful material, once seen as waste, is recycled back into the supply chain to create new products.”
Valorisation offers several benefits for sustainable food systems, including waste reduction, resource efficiency, and the creation of new revenue streams. By repurposing waste materials, the food industry can achieve several benefits:
- Reducing waste: By finding innovative ways to repurpose food waste and by-products, valorisation helps to minimize the amount of landfill.
- Efficient resource usage: Valorisation promotes the efficient use of resources by extracting maximum value from every part of the food supply chain, which in turn helps reduce resource consumption and minimize the environmental impact of food production.
- Encouraging innovation: The process of valorisation often involves the development of new technologies and methods for repurposing waste, which can lead to exciting innovations in the food industry and beyond.
- Enhancing sustainability: By reducing waste, conserving resources, and promoting innovation, valorisation helps to create a more sustainable food system that can support a growing global population without compromising the planet.
Expanding Opportunities for Valorisation in the Circular Economy for Food
The NEA has highlighted the importance of food valorisation, stating that this innovative method can “strengthen Singapore’s resource resilience by closing the food loop, and drive Singapore’s transition towards a circular food economy. The valorised products can also become agri-food inputs to contribute to Singapore’s vision of producing 30% of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030.”
Valorisation in the food industry involves repurposing waste and by-products into higher-value products, such as using food waste for animal feed or extracting valuable compounds from by-products for human functional food, thanks to their high nutrient content. This process is essential for achieving a circular economy in food, as it reduces waste, increases resource efficiency, and fosters innovation in both the animal and human functional food sectors.
KosmodeHealth is a deep-tech start-up, born out of the National University of Singapore’s Food Science and Technology Department. We are a company with one mission to expand access to human health from nature by impacting two industries (Agrifood and Biomedical) with three technologies. We offer solutions to the challenges of repurposing food waste through our halal-certified plant extraction technology. By upcycling food processing waste such as spent barley grains, wheat bran, canola, and sunflower seeds, we create protein powders that can be developed into functional foods to address chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity while feeding the growing global population.
Through partnering with KosmodeHealth, food manufacturers can effectively manage their waste materials and transform them into functional food ingredients, helping them achieve their sustainability targets and contribute to the circular economy. Contact us today to learn more or to partner with KosmodeHealth.
The Solution – A Case Study: Re-imagining ‘Waste Streams’ into Alternate Protein and Fibre Ingredients
KosmodeHealth Singapore has developed an innovative solution to address the issue of food waste and nutritional loss by creating a protein-rich, high-fibre noodle called “W0W® noodle.” By extracting protein and fibre from spent barley grains (SBG), a by-product of the beer and malt industry that generates over 75,000 tonnes of SBG annually in Singapore, KosmodeHealth creates a zero-waste, circular product that benefits both people and the earth.
W0W® noodles are a functional food, designed to cater to the protein and fibre needs of aging and diabetic populations while also mitigating the diabetic epidemic caused by traditional noodles in Asia. These noodles do not cause a glycemic index response and are ideal for those with weight concerns, diabetes, or those who follow keto, vegan or vegetarian diets.
This approach for valorisation of SBG into W0W® noodle is included in the APEC Food Security work plan as a reference project, demonstrating the potential for scalability and valorisation within the food industry. W0W® noodle is just one example of how food valorisation can repurpose and upcycle food manufacturing waste to create nutritious food products that are sustainable, affordable, and accessible to all.
With KosmodeHealth’s tailored strategies for optimizing food waste valorisation, food manufacturers and health product companies can work with us to expand their portfolio to include functional food or deploy our technology in their manufacturing processes. Visit KosmodeHealth to find out more.
Contact us today to learn more or to partner with KosmodeHealth.
Unlocking the Potential of a Circular Economy for Food: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Food Valorisation
Food waste is a global problem, but it doesn’t have to be. We’re here to help you unlock the potential of a circular economy and make your business more sustainable by turning food waste into valuable food resources and meet the goal of food security and optimal health for all.
KosmodeHealth provides new innovations to upcycle food manufacturing waste and partners with businesses to address the challenges associated with food valorisation. Our focus on spent grains has uncovered their abundant and high nutrient content, making them a valuable health resource and functional food for human consumption.
KosmodeHealth aims to create a more sustainable food ecosystem that prioritizes human health and well-being by upvaluing food manufacturing waste into high-quality food premixes. We offer tailored solutions for food manufacturers and health product companies looking to expand their portfolio to include functional food. KosmodeHealth can contribute to a more circular economy and build a brighter future for generations to come and help food manufacturers reach their sustainability goals.
Find out more about KosmodeHealth here or contact us today to learn more.
Resources and Further Reading
Bhattacharya, S., & Chakraborty, S. (2023). Smart approaches for efficient management and sustainable valorisation of food waste: A review. Bioresource Technology, 352, 128952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128952
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2021). Food Initiative. Retrieved from https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/food-redesign/overview
European Commission. (2021). Circular Economy Action Plan. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/index_en.htm
European Parliament. (2018). Circular economy: Turning waste into a resource. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/priorities/circular-economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2019). Food Loss and Waste: Facts and Figures. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data/en/
Liu, J., Mooney, H., Hull, V., Davis, S. J., Gaskell, J., Hertel, T., … & Zhu, C. (2018). Sustainability challenges of a circular economy. Nature Sustainability, 1(6), 283-286.
World Economic Forum. (2019). Accelerating the Circular Economy Transition: An Opportunity for Europe. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Accelerating_Circular_Economy_Europe_2019.pdf