Page 27 - Food&Drink Business magazine June 2022

antioxidant properties. Applications for banana peel
extracts range from preserving soybean oil and chicken mince (antioxidant), prawns (antimicrobial), providing active ingredients in pharmaceutical products including Parkinson’s disease and diabetic medications, and stimulating growth of gut
product of wheat processing, is a relatively plentiful source of the protein agglutinin.
It has been found to improve targeted delivery medications for cancer treatments and antifungal therapies.
LUCRATIVE OFFERS
As upcycling food waste by-products becomes more
Overcooked, uncoated, and discoloured cereals were repurposed and upcycled to replace some of the malted barley in the brewing process, creating a niche, high-valued craft beer.
University of Leeds researchers created a hair dye made from anthocyanins extracted from Ribena blackcurrant cordial pomace to reduce the risk of allergic reactions common to synthetic dyes. It presented a lucrative opportunity considering the global hair dye industry is worth more than $29 billion.
With no industry partnership, the academics developed their concept hair dye into the retail brand Dr Craft, and are now branching into cosmetics and skin care based on nutraceuticals extracted from mandarin peels.
There is a major flaw in the way we have traditionally classified waste; as having no or low value because it is deemed
to be inedible.
It may be better to look at
waste as by-products with identifiable high value components that have a range of applications.
The research is there and growing, and all that is needed are commercial partners and science translators to bring it to reality.
One thing that’s for sure is that food is a great source of nutritive components that go beyond a full belly and dietary health. Food is one of our most prized resources in more ways than we give it credit. ✷
✷ ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
“ As our understanding of food components and bodily functions increases, novel commercial opportunities that improve health while simultaneously decreasing food waste are becoming available.”
FOOD WASTE
mucosa cells in the colon.
As the world produced nearly
120 million tonnes of bananas in 2020, and 35 per cent of the fruit is the peel, there are a lot of banana peel transformation opportunities to commercialise.
Even wheat germ, a by-
mainstream, it also becomes more lucrative, sometimes in innovative ways.
In 2018, Kellogg’s UK partnered with Seven Bro7hers Brewery to convert rejected Cocoa Pops, Rice Bubbles, and Corn Flakes into beer.
Dr Anneline Padayachee
is a nutritional food
scientist and science
communicator
specialising in
demystifying the science
of food, digestion and nutrient delivery in the body.
The Destination for food innovation
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Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
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www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | June 2022 | Food&Drink business | 27