Many former foodstuffs are now being collected and processed by Trotec. However, there are still many foodstuffs that are not yet being given a second life.
In order to further reduce waste and to be able to give a second life to more of these products, Trotec is conducting tests with new streams of former foodstuffs. Where each product is a unique problem with specific properties and processing needs, Trotec looks for a suitable method to include these products in the process.
New products, new challenges
In recent months, Trotec has organised tests with liquid chocolate, potato starch, marshmallows, syrups, products with seeds and nuts, among others. The processes of these products are highly customised. For instance, fruit products come in all kinds of forms (in pieces, peels, puree, slices,...) which makes processing complex. Fruit products are also fairly "wet" products and therefore contain relatively little dry matter. After thermal processing, the yield is quite low. The thermal treatment of these raw materials and former foodstuffs is a necessary step as a result of which, among other things, glucose and other sugar-containing products offer other challenges due to increased stickiness after heating with increased fire risk as a result.
These findings are accurately recorded by Trotec and form the basis for further tests. These tests are carried out according to the dry matter content of the raw materials, flammability and stickiness. Grain size when finalising the finished product is also an important factor. Further tests are required to check and guarantee the granularity.
Every year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food are thrown away worldwide with a value of more than 1 trillion (1000 billion) euros. This is according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Wealthy countries, including most European countries, waste as much as the total food production of sub-Saharan Africa. Trotec consequently does its utmost to tackle this problem wherever possible, processing 240,000 tonnes of these food scraps each year into a rich and balanced supplement for animal feed.