A project which addresses food waste by turning 'ugly' vegetables into snacks and supplements has been launched.
Horticulture Innovation Australia and the CSIRO are working with growers to turn imperfect-looking vegetables into useful products that are high in nutritional value.
As part of the project, researchers are investigating the use of separation, extraction and stabilisation technologies to create products that can be sold as powders, concentrates or vegetable-dense snacks for children.
Horticulture Innovation chief executive John Lloyd said good nutrients, or phytonutrients, may be able to be drawn from carrots, broccoli and other vegetables.
“Limiting the amount of produce left in the field and offcuts cast aside during processing is a priority for industry because there’s so much potential there," he said.
"On top of this, Australians are not eating enough vegetables.”
CSIRO chief research scientist Dr Mary Ann Augustin said farms can lose up to 40 per cent of produce and growers are keen to see this stop.
For that reason, fermentation of vegetables is also a significant area of focus of the project.
Augustin also said feedback from growers is that processing plants need to be more accessible as many producers cannot justify the expense of freighting unused produce long distances.
“We are also looking into the interest in setting up processing hubs in key growing regions to make it easier for growers to process their underutilised produce and create these high-value, nutrient-dense products,” she said.
The project is due for completion in late 2018.
