UPcycled4Food initiative: Foodvalley spearheads project to “transform sustainable food systems”

19 Aug 2024 --- Foodvalley, the leading agro-food center in Europe, is shining a light on upcycling and food waste initiatives with a new position paper that delves into and clarifies the definition and attributed values of upcycled food and ingredients.

Finding the right market positioning is one of the main challenges for companies developing upcycled foods and technologies for upcycling side streams. While upcycled food and the method of upcycling are trending topics within the F&B industry, the term can be interpreted in different ways and lacks a clear definition.

Earlier this month, Food Ingredients First reported that as global consumers increasingly demand more environmentally conscious F&B products, the upcycling of agricultural waste has become a crucial avenue for more sustainable food systems. 

To address this situation, Foodvalley is providing actionable steps on how those values can be communicated in the industry — all the way up to the consumer.

Shaping the future of food together

The position paper “Upcycled Food and Ingredients” is an important step toward creating awareness of the need to scale the market for upcycled food and ingredients. 

Beyond discussing the current market conditions, the publication highlights the conditions in the market and regulatory field necessary for scaling impactful upcycled food and ingredients. 

Input from across the industry is vital to the creation of the position paper, says Foodvalley.

A wide array of partners from Foodvalley’s Upcycling Community, academics and other organizations collaborated in different working groups to create the various sections of this impactful publication.

UPcycled4Food Initiative

Foodvalley believes that food manufacturers should widely adopt upcycled products and ingredients on supermarket shelves and in foodservice offerings.

Food losses occur throughout the entire supply chain, from farms to retail. Although prevention of food losses and waste is a top priority, Foodvalley highlights that the reintegration of unavoidable losses and side streams into the agri-food system should be the subsequent priority. 

Despite existing technologies to repurpose food losses, transitioning from a linear to a circular value chain remains challenging. Optimal upcycling of residue streams across various sectors, including food, animal feed, fertilizers and non-agrifood markets, poses significant difficulties. 

Foodvalley’s position paper “Upcycled Food and Ingredients” addresses promoting the use of side streams in food production from scientific, regulatory and industry perspectives.To address these issues, the Foodvalley Upcycling Community was established to foster collaboration and remove barriers, promoting a shift toward circular agri-food value chains through increased awareness and shared ambitions.

Next steps to take action

Based on the insights provided in the position paper, Foodvalley underscores that the next step is to scale and expand the success of front runners, transitioning from a niche market to widespread use and procurement of upcycled ingredients and products. 

Achieving this requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders who can shape new value propositions and how they fit with future market demands.

Foodvalley will spearhead the UPcycled4Food Initiative, focusing on collaboration across the value chain and accelerating the adoption of upcycled products and ingredients, pushing the ambition to make upcycling the new normal mainstream choice for manufacturers, foodservice companies and retailers. 

By collaborating, partners can implement strategies to enhance the visibility and accessibility of upcycled products and ingredients in food products, supermarkets and the foodservice sector, making upcycling products and ingredients the new normal in the market.

Additionally, this initiative will explore new product categories where upcycled ingredients have great but untapped potential, such as bakery, confectionery, pastry products, soups and sauces, savory products, meat dairy alternatives, beverages and ready-to-eat meals.