This startup is recycling food waste into powdered supplements

Communities undertake recycling to save space in landfills and to cut down on the amount of energy needed to create new products from scratch. A startup company called NewFoodz is undertaking a recycling innovation program to address two other problems, namely food waste and hunger.

Between processing and consumer waste, roughly 40 percent of nutritious food is discarded that might be used to feed hungry people. The powdered supplement company already has a plant in Mexico that uses a low-energy method to turn orange peel into a powder that could be added to cereal and yogurt to add nutrition. It has set up an ambitious Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $1.5 million to set up a plant in Alaska to process salmon and shrimp byproducts. The recycled food waste company hopes to eventually process a variety of fruits and vegetables in a similar manner.

The recycling process is described as not only being low energy but using no chemicals. Potable water is extracted as a byproduct. The company claims that its process will preserve the vitamin, mineral, and fiber content of the raw food products it processes.

Powdered, recycled food waste may have a bright future, depending on customer acceptance and retail price. One cannot imagine eating the stuff directly, except under dire threat of starvation. But powdered food would work as a supplement to other meals; meat protein used to create sauces and soups or vegetable and fruit powder sprinkled in baking mixes. The technology could expand the supply of available food without adding an acre of agricultural land.