Motivation
The waste generated along the entire food chain (‘from farm to fork’) is huge. An estimated amount of 88 million tons in EU alone. Food waste constitutes a major loss of resources contributing to climate change, and causing considerable economic impact.
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Harvesting and processing inevitably generates agro-industrial residue such as non-compliant seeds and crops. Yet, this side stream is still rich in valuable compounds like proteins, fibers and bioactive compounds.
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In PROLIFIC we research cascading processes to extract those substances from peas, chickpeas, fungi and coffee, and bring them back as every-day life products: protein rich bread, cosmetic ingredients and functional packaging material.
PROLIFIC at a glance
Project ambition
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Extract compounds of nutritional value, bio-activity and structural function from agro-industrial sidestreams to meet the increasing market demand
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Replace mineral-oil based polymers with biodegradable molecules and bio-based alternatives in packaging materials;
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Valorise agro-food sidestreams and thus increase overall efficiency from arable land without compromising food production.
Working approach
A highly integrated work plan to repurpose
agro-industrial side-streams and develop
new bio-based value chains
