Understanding Upcycled Foods and Their Benefits
As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Your garbage can is a potential trove of perfectly edible food. The idea might make you a little uneasy — and that’s perfectly understandable — but the trend of “upcycling” food waste is catching on. Chefs and food manufacturers alike are tinkering with ways to significantly reduce food waste by catching scraps — and putting them to use — before they reach the trash can.
What Does It Mean to Upcycle Food?
Put the idea of rummaging through the garbage out of your mind. That’s not what this is. The idea of upcycling is based on the awareness that we’re not consuming the hard-earned food products we have. Think of prepping ingredients and how often you scrap what you’re not using — even though it’s perfectly clean, perfectly edible — into the garbage. And consider the clean, healthy fruits and vegetables that never make it to the grocery store because they aren’t as bright and shiny as what we’ve grown used to.
All of these food products can still be used. And with some creativity and innovative food processing, we can free landfill space, stretch our limited resources a bit further and save money. That’s food waste upcycling.
OK, That’s Not As Gross As I Thought … But What’s in It for Me?
From a food manufacturer or distribution standpoint, it’s win-win. Here are two main reasons:
- Your bottom line. The trend in recent years has been to go lean. We no longer have the luxury of being able to casually toss the scraps. Rather, the businesses that pull ahead are those that make smarter use of “waste” products. In manufacturing, that means recycling and re-using. In food manufacturing, that means upcycling.
- Marketing. Congrats, you’re a part of the solution! Consumers care about the environment just as much as they care about their food sources. Upcycling combines the two and gives you a powerful messaging tool. And it’s only going to get better as more and more consumers understand what goes into upcycling.
How Is the Larger Food Industry Embracing Upcycling?
The more forward-thinking businesses see the long-term potential of upcycling and are getting ahead of it. Misfit Juicery is an excellent example. The company recovers unused fruits and vegetables for juice products. What’s more, the entire premise of the business is about messaging just that fact. ReGrained is another example. That company works with breweries to recover “spent” grains that are no longer needed in the brewing process but are perfectly good for other food uses.
Where Does PacMoore Stand?
At PacMoore, we embrace innovative thinking such as upcycling. We manufacture specialty foods of all kinds and work with distributors to help them do the same. To learn more about our processes and how we can help you reduce food waste, contact us today.
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