The Upcycling Community
Creating a circular food system – the challenge
Inequitable global food production and distribution significantly contribute to climate change (responsible for one-third of global GHG emissions), biodiversity loss, and social inequalities. One-third of all food produced is wasted, while food insecurity persists. Upcycling food focuses on reducing food losses by transforming side streams into new food products, which decreases the need for additional resources and lowers emissions, land use, and water consumption.
Various pioneers already demonstrate the benefits, but there are still significant barriers to scaling. While a growing number of innovations are emerging in the upcycling field, the real challenge – and opportunity – is to transform the current system into new circular supply chains. Towards a more circular food system. This is why Foodvalley founded the Upcycling Community, an ambitious and diverse group of partners working on impactful initiatives to valorise food production side streams and losses. Our mission: bringing upcycled food into the mainstream.
What is Food Upcycling?
Food Upcycling is all about creating optimal value out of food losses and byproducts. While preventing food losses is the preferred option, upcycling them into food or feed is the next best solution from a resource valorisation perspective.
Position Paper
Want to learn more about this topic? The Upcycling Community created an extensive Position Paper, which provides clarity on the definition of upcycled food and ingredients, their attributed values, and how these should be communicated in the industry — all the way up to the consumer. Read more
Video on food upcycling
Within the Upcycled4Food Initiative, started by The Upcycling Community, we developed a short insightful video, explaining the opportunities for upcycling valuable food side streams. Watch it now!
The Upcycling Community – a part of the solution
Foodvalley founded The Upcycling Community as an international and closed group of partners, collaborating on the upcycling of food losses towards food. With our pre-competitive approach, we jointly address industry challenges such as product quality, safety, consumer acceptance of circular food concepts and the environmental gain or loss of processing side streams into food-grade ingredients.
Together, we overcome challenges by sharing expert knowledge during insightful Acceleration Sessions, focused action through initiatives, and impactful collaborations when partners connect at our events.
Are you interested in becoming a partner of The Upcycling Community? Fill in the Request Partnership Form and we will invite you for an e-meeting.
The Upcycling Community Partners
Community goals
In Europe, circular agrifood business models are increasingly gaining traction. However, the scale is still quite small, and many systemic barriers exist. In The Upcycling Community, we tackle these barriers by working towards the following goals:
Bringing together diverse and impactful businesses
- We must create the right conditions to get circular products on the shelves. One of these challenges is addressing the uncertainty among consumers towards products from ingredients previously seen as food losses.
Scaling upcycled ingredients and food
- Partners of the Upcycling Community come from various geographical regions and stages in the supply chain. Our partners share knowledge, identify collaboration opportunities and work together on creating iconic upcycled products to introduce to the market. Foodvalley facilitates this process by unique offerings like shared lab facilities and programmes for start-ups on how to scale up their business.
Bridging upcycling and food innovators
- Strict requirements for availability, price and quality of ingredients often make it difficult for manufacturers to transition from virgin to upcycled ingredients, as they are often not ready to invest in product development or lab research for more circular ingredients. We work on creating the right conditions to encourage purchasers and product developers to integrate more upcycled ingredients in their recipes and make a move towards a more circular food system.
Enabling fact-based decision making
- Additional processing steps can be associated with more costs, higher carbon and water footprint and a loss of total usable nutrients. To make the right decisions for valorising side streams or purchasing circular ingredients, AI models and scenario studies can support transition thinking and ensure optimal resource use.
‘The Upcycling Community of the Foodvalley network is a great resource to meet with pioneers in the Upcycling movement, across the whole food value chain, and collaborate to find solutions to the barriers linked to change from linear to circular design.’
Eve Martinet-Bareau, International Flavors & FragrancesNews & Events
Initiatives
Initiatives
Upcycled Food and Ingredients Position Paper
Foodvalley is working with Upcycling Community partners and other stakeholders on a position paper on Upcycled Food and Ingredients. The position paper will seek alignment between various stakeholders on the definition of upcycled food and ingredients, their attributed values, and how these should be communicated in the industry — all the way up to the consumer.
Read moreContact person
UPcycled4Food Initiative
Upcycled products and ingredients should be widely adopted by food manufacturers, on supermarket shelves and food service offerings. That’s the ambition of the new Upcycled4Food Initiative, launched by Foodvalley’s Upcycling Community.
Read moreContact person
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