“From Trash to Table: The Upcycled Food Revolution”

The growth of conscious consumerism has led to an increasing interest in sustainable practices, including waste reduction. Consumers are motivated by a variety of factors, such as health, ethical concerns, and environmental protection. There is a greater demand for businesses to provide products considered ‘green’ or ‘sustainable.’ In mid of the same, food waste has become, one of the biggest concerns.  A report suggests that approx. 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted globally every year, whereas 740 million people face hunger. Thus, the concept of upcycled food has gained popularity as it aims to reverse waste trends and bring back trash to table again.

Food Wastage Statistics

Upcycling food refers to the creative and resourceful practice of using food scraps, leftovers, or surplus ingredients that would typically be discarded to create new dishes, food products, or value-added products, thereby minimizing waste. Statistical data suggest that India is the second largest country to generate food waste after China.

How will upcycling help?

Benefits of Upcycling Includes

• Less Waste: Upcycled products prevent food waste by creating new, high-quality products out of surplus food
• Saves Money: Instead of buying new ingredients, upcycling uses what’s already available, saving money.
• Helps the Environment: Upcycling reduces pollution and saves energy used to make new food.
• Creative Cooking: Upcycling encourages creativity in the kitchen by finding new uses for leftover ingredients.
• Supports Farmers: Buying surplus or imperfect produce supports farmers and reduces food waste on farms.
• Community Support: Donating surplus food to those in need helps support communities and reduces hunger.
• Teaches Responsibility: Upcycling food teaches us to be responsible consumers by using what we have and not wasting resources.

Photo Source: Shutterstock

Some common examples of upcycling food include:

Upcycled food is a great business idea, so brands are popping up across the globe. They take surplus food, edible food waste, and food byproducts, then turn the waste into nutritious snacks, plant-based candy, and so much more. Upcycled food is a booming business. This industry is worth $54 billion it is estimated to reach $97 billion by 2031. Some common examples of the upcycling of food include:.

• Vegetable Scrap Broth: Using vegetable peels, trimmings, and scraps to make flavorful homemade broth for soups, stews, and sauces.
• Stale Bread Croutons: Repurpose stale or leftover bread by cutting it into cubes, seasoning with herbs and spices, and baking until crispy to make homemade croutons for salads or soups.
• Fruit Peel Chips: Baking or dehydrating fruit peels, such as banana peels or citrus peels, to create crispy and flavorful chips that can be enjoyed as a snack or used as garnishes.
• Smoothie with Leftover Produce: Blending leftover fruits and vegetables that are slightly overripe or bruised into smoothies or juices to create nutritious and refreshing beverages.
• Regrowing Vegetables from Scraps: Planting the roots or stems of certain vegetables, such as green onions, lettuce, or celery, in water or soil to regrow fresh produce at home.
• Surplus Produce Pickling: Preserving excess fruits and vegetables by pickling them in vinegar, spices, and herbs to create tangy and flavorful condiments for sandwiches, salads, or charcuterie boards.
• Herb Stem Pesto: Using leftover herb stems, such as parsley or cilantro stems, along with nuts, garlic, olive oil, and cheese, make pesto sauce for pasta, sandwiches, or dipping.
• Overripe Fruit Compote: Cook overripe or bruised fruits with a bit of sugar and spices to make a delicious fruit compote that can be served over yoghurt, oatmeal, or pancakes.
• Coffee Grounds Body Scrub: Repurposing uses coffee grounds as a natural exfoliant for DIY body scrubs or face masks, combining them with coconut oil or honey for added moisturising benefits.
• Food Waste Reduction Apps: minimise: utilising smartphone apps or websites that provide recipes and tips for upcycling food scraps and leftovers, helping users minimize food waste and save money.

Challenges of Upcycling Food:

While the benefits sound promising, the food industry faces several hurdles to fully realise the potential of upcycling. These include logistical issues, regulatory hurdles, consumer perception, and market development.

Which countries have laws against food waste?

Many countries around the world have adopted food waste legislation. France, Italy, South Korea, and Japan,. China, Singapore, UAE , Norway, and Denmark all have legislation to deal with food waste. In India, though there is no clear-cut legislation but various regulatory bodies are taking measures to mitigate food waste.  The government has implemented a national policy named SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Cluster). Other than that, FSSAI has stricter rules and guidelines for registration, licensing, transportation, storage, surveillance, and consumer awareness.

Companies in Upcycling of food

Upcycled food products are being produced by global food brands like Regrained, Planetarians, FoPo Food Powder, Candid, Wize, and Sweet Benin (UFA, 2021).

A Delhi-based startup (Wastelink) collects food by-products, surplus materials, and produce rejects from food producers and converts them into nutritionally rich feed for animals. By doing this, it not only helps eliminate food waste, but also prevents the wastage of resources and aids food producers curb their costs. In the last two years, the startup, which collects food waste from over 700+ locations across India, spanning 50+ cities, claims to have upcycled over 5,000 metric tons of food waste, preventing over 11,000 metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions.

Studies show that approximately 40%% of the food produced in India is wasted. Thus, along with adopting measures to reduce food waste, promoting the upcycling of waste food items is the need of the hour. Upcycling food has the potential to transform the economy by reducing food waste, creating new markets, enhancing food security, fostering innovation, and reducing environmental impact. Governments, businesses, and consumers all have a role to play in promoting and supporting upcycling food initiatives to realize these economic, social, and environmental benefits on a global scale. We can only expect more business houses to explore the upscaling food industry in the coming days.