Sign in to view
member only content

Spotted: Every year, millions of tonnes of by-products from commercial food manufacturing processes, such as peels and rinds, are thrown away – even though they often contain plenty of valuable nutrients. On top of this, growing these wasted ingredients has a large environmental impact. Green Spot Technologies is fighting this waste by using fermentation to transform commercial food waste into nutritious and healthy alternative ingredients.

The company has developed Ferment’Up, a range of sustainable, circular alternatives to traditional ingredients like flour, cereals, cocoa, and tomato concentrate. Ferment’Up Apple, for instance can be used in apple sauce or as a malt extract replacement in baked goods, while Ferment’Up Cereals can be used in recipes that require cocoa powder or chocolate.

The products are created using a dry fermentation process that transforms spent grains from breweries, tomato skins, and apple peels into nutrient-rich powders. This process not only repurposes food waste and saves it from landfills but also uses 60 per cent less water than wet fermentation methods. Plus, by reducing the need for fresh crops to make new ingredients, it minimises over-farming and the subsequent environmental degradation.

Green Spot has already diverted 150,000 kilogrammes of food by-products from landfill, but plans to scale and commercialise Ferment’Up by 2025 and continue to grow its impact. The company is a finalist for the 2024 Earthshot Prize.

Written By: Lisa Magloff