The LIFE F3 project includes the Trotec processing plants in Belgium and France and is focused on boosting resource efficiency and the circular economy.
Ultimately it is about averting greater food losses, as well as reducing CO2 emissions.
Former foodstuffs used in feed in Europe are typically of plant origin. The materials are removed from the retail market due to unintentional or unavoidable production errors. Typically, they include broken biscuits and chocolates, surplus bread, incorrectly flavoured crisps and breakfast cereals. Their benefits in feed derive from their high-energy content in the form of sugars, oils and starch.
But there are plenty of former foodstuffs that do not find a solution, [that end up in landfill or incineration], and are not being processed into added-value products.
These are referred to as complex former food products, ones with challenging processing characteristics but a high nutritional value. They can include syrups, liquid chocolate streams, milk powders, bananas, seeds and nuts, or frozen products.
The LIFE F3 initiative will work with technology providers to develop a novel thermal treatment for such products, first at pilot scale, and then on an industrial level...