Waste not, want not

Addressing food waste is arguably one of the biggest growth areas for food suppliers over the next ten years. While the meat industry has been practicing whole-animal utilisation for many years now, the same cannot yet be said of fruit and vegetable production.

Israeli start-up Nutrilees is tackling wine waste by introducing a new antioxidant-packed ingredient using a byproduct of wine fermentation, wine lees.

Wine lees are the dead yeast cells left over after the fermentation process and are often discarded due to their sour taste and smell. But, Nutrilees have fine-tuned the process to remove the tart taste leaving a tasteless, purple powder superfood that’s high in protein, dietary fibre, polyphenols, and minerals.

Where should we focus our first efforts at whole-plant utilisation in our fruit and vegetable production?