SuperGround’s technology harnesses nutritional value of poultry bones, says CEO

12 May 2022 --- Finnish food tech start-up SuperGround has unveiled a new food production technology that can create up to 30% more poultry-based foods from one chicken than existing methods. According to the company, the technology is poised to improve the food industry’s efficiency while reducing its environmental impact – without major investments or any compromise on food safety or taste.

SuperGround believes that by utilizing the nutritional value of chicken bones it can provide “an instant solution that helps solve the global food crisis and increase the food industry’s sustainability.”

SuperGround’s CEO Santtu Vekkeli tells FoodIngredientsFirst that third-party companies’ distribution of consumer products – which could include chicken nuggets and meatballs – could be seen in early 2023.

“Our first production line has already been used in test production, but it will take time for producers to modify their production and install machines into full-scale production,” he says.

SuperGround believes they are the first company to crack on how the food industry can utilize the nutritional benefits of bones in an unnoticeable way in producing poultry-based foods. (Credit: SuperGround)Advances in food tech
Vekkeli claims the company’s technology can help mitigate burdens on the planet, a vital issue that F&B industries are looking to overcome. 

“There has been no suitable technology before that takes advantage of the nutritional value of poultry bones without negative effects to taste, smell and texture in the mouth. Yet the need has been there for quite a long time,” he underscores. 

Vekkeli believes there is increasing demand to maximize environmental efficiency by investors, governments and customers.

“The food industry has learned that change in consumer behavior is slow when switching to more unique kinds of products such as meat analogs,” he describes. 

“Our innovation allows almost an immediate change in the environmental effects of existing food items such as chicken nuggets. The material produced by machinery sold by us replaces 5% to 30% of non-bone-containing poultry material in the product.”

Vekkeli stresses that the cost of poultry is expected to increase, and the technology allows companies to get up to a third more edible food from their existing supply of poultry. “Our process is also extremely efficient and needs a minimum workforce to operate,” he explains. 

Nutritional wins for poultry bones 
According to Vekkeli, using poultry bones is more advantageous than utilizing bones and other tissues from whole plucked and gutted chicken. 

“There are groups in all societies that have insufficient calcium intake, and we have seen them as one of the key markets for the products containing our SuperGrinded poultry. We believe that there is increasing demand for our products from a nutritional standpoint,” he asserts. 

“We evaluated and tested various food raw materials and then quickly settled on chicken. Around 35% to 40% of chicken net weight is bones after guts and feathers are removed, making it optimal for our process.”

Higher value chicken parts
Moreover, the bone content of poultry is “relatively high when compared to other farmed animals.”

“Different segments of poultry meat such as breast muscle are valued differently. Our solution allows cutting of these higher value chicken parts before processing the rest up to bone content of 50%,” Vekkeli further explains.

According to FAO estimates, by 2050, we will need to produce 60% more food to feed a world population of 9.3 billion. But at the same time, 800 million people globally are undernourished.

Overcoming environmental sustainability hurdles
However, the sustainability challenge of the food industry won’t be solely solved with vegan alternatives, such as plant-based protein, as these alternatives still cost more than meat alternatives and require people to change their diet habits, according to SuperGround. SuperGround’s CEO Santtu Vekkeli.

Technology and solutions that instantly enable the production of well-known meat choices more efficiently and sustainably are needed.

“Poultry meat cutting is labor and capital intensive, and industry is constantly looking for more efficient methods,” notes Vekkeli, adding how the company has multiple ongoing projects related to different animals.

“I am confident that more efficient utilization of animals in food will be ‘standard’ in the future. There will be no place for the non-utilization of perfectly good food ingredients.”

One of the holy grails for the food industry has been how to increase the efficiency and sustainability of food production at the same time.

The company has previously gathered seed funding from angel investors for R&D purposes. 

The team will demonstrate their technology for the first time at IFFA 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany, between May 14 and 19.

By Elizabeth Green