5 minute read
Perfecting Nature?
Dennis Eriksson holds a PhD in Genetics and Plant Breeding, is a Researcher at the
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Chair of COST Action PlantEd (CA18111), and Executive Manager of the Plant Genetic Resources International Platform (PGRIP)
Dennis Eriksson,
Researcher, SLU,
Chair of COST Action PlantEd (CA18111), Executive Manager, Plant Genetic Resources International Platform (PGRIP)
“An improvement in our capacity to develop good crops (that are environmentally friendly, nutritious, and high-yielding) is ONE of many ways we need to work to move our society towards sustainability. People have been breeding crops for at least 10-12 millennia, but until the 20th century it was a very slow and inefficient process and, as a result, the crops were very poor. We must never forget that plant breeding feeds people. Without science-based and efficient plant breeding, so many more people would be starving in our world. The latest technological advancements add to the breeders´ toolbox and allows them to work more efficiently. The breeders could of course limit themselves to only the older technologies, such as cross breeding and radiation-induced mutagenesis, but progress would be slower, and agriculture would keep its dependence on agrochemical inputs such as pesticides. Having said that, I need to repeat that breeding is of course only one of many necessary things we need to work with to achieve a more sustainable agriculture.”
“There is, and has always been, a great symbiosis between fundamental plant research and plant breeding. Research leads to new discoveries and more knowledge about genetic and biochemical pathways in the plant cells – and this knowledge is being applied by breeders who use it to improve the way the crops grow in the field. To name but a few examples, researchers are currently developing gluten-free wheat that is suitable for people with coeliac disease, and purple tomato with high levels of very healthy anthocyanins. Give it a few more years, and a more innovation-friendly atmosphere in the EU, and we may find these on the market.”
Visit Fi Global Insights to read the full interview with Dennis Eriksson bit ly/plant-bred-future
Upcycling and the circular economy
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, one third of the food that is produced for human consumption is wasted, with vast quantities lost at every stage in the supply chain 38 Not only is this a tremendous waste of resources, but organic material that is not properly handled can cause pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and constitute a public health hazard
In a bid to reduce waste from across the food system, innovators are exploring industrial by-products as sources of food ingredients
Coffee grounds are among the by-products that have proven most interesting to date. Caffelnk, a finalist in the Start-up Innovation Challenge at Fi Europe 2019, has found a way to extract brown, ocher, and beige colourants from grounds 39 Danish start-up Kaffe Bueno, meanwhile, upcycles spent coffee grounds for use as nutritious ingredients for wellness products 40
The Coffee Cherry Co also uses coffee by-products, but in this case the skins of the coffee fruit, which it buys from farmers, dries, mills, and wells as a high-fibre antioxidant for bakery, beverage and confectionery applications. As well as reducing waste, this has social sustainability benefits by bringing a new income stream to farmers 41
De-fatted seeds, the by-product of oil production, are another material of interest Planetarians' patentpending technology uses thermomechanical engineering to turn de-fatted sunflower seeds into 50% protein concentrate and 35% protein flour — and it is experimenting with other waste materials, such as coffee grounds, orange peel, fruit and nut pulp 42 Linnolat, a start-up that was accepted into the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food accelerator in 2019, uses defatted hazelnuts, coconuts, and sesame seeds as a vegan alternative to milk and white chocolate (both of which require considerable quantities of milk protein) 43
Chocolate makers may also benefit from innovations that use cocoa shells and pulp as a sweetener. In early 2020 Ireland's Healy Group announced PrimaFi Cocoa, a micronised cocoa fibre that can reduce sugar by up to 45% 44
Spent brewers' yeast is the starting material for New York-based Rise Products, which developed a patentpending technology to create nutritious bakery ingredients 45 Dutch start-up FUMI Ingredients uses spent yeast for a very different purpose, as the source of an egg white substitute with impressive foaming and binding properties 46
It is not only innovative start-ups that are exploiting the potential of by-products Established companies, too, are in on the action
In January 2020 the EU Smart Protein project began at the School of Food and Nutritional Science at University of Cork, involving 33 industry partners (including Barilla, AB InBev, ProVeg International) Funded to the tune of €8 2 million under Horizon 2020, with an additional €1 million coming from industry, the project is exploring how the by-products produced during pasta, bread and beer production can be tapped to make microbial biomass proteins for plant-based meats, fish, sea-food, cheese, infant formula, dairy, baked goods 47
While upcycling existing waste streams is contributing to sustainability in the food sector, some companies are avoiding waste creation altogether by finding efficient ways to extract the maximum of value out of raw materials CP Kelco teamed up with researchers from the Technical University of Denmark to extract protein from seaweed biomass, in addition to the carrageenan that is the mainstay of its business 48 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, meanwhile, is experimenting with oat fractionation technologies to produce oat fibre, proteins, and carbohydrates, all from the same grain.49
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Regions in the Spotlight 12-23 April 2021
Regions in the Spotlight 12-23 April 2021 Health Ingredients in the Spotlight 14-18 June 2021
