Vegetable grower Fresh Select and the CSIRO have teamed up to develop a new food manufacturing company, Nutri V, turning surplus vegetables into powders and purees.
Nutri V will commercialise CSIRO-patented technology to develop its products while combatting food waste and also helping Australians meet the recommended five serve of vegetables a day.
Nutri V CEO John Said said he did not see the Nutri V products as a replacement for a healthy diet, as “fresh is best”, but an opportunity in plant-based ingredient and product technology.
“We’ll be able to minimise wastage by using the entire crop to make powder – ‘ugly veg’, stems and leaves as well – not just the retail-fit parts,” said Said.
“Nutri V provides an opportunity to help consumers increase their vegetable intake quickly and easily. We see these ingredients as a fantastic opportunity for the Australian food industry to increase the nutritional content of products to maximise the health of consumers.”
The technology will turn the Australian-grown vegetables into ingredients, products and supplements “that lock in the vegetable’s natural colour and flavour”, with the addition of the CSIRO’s “microencapsulation of healthy oils and gut health fermentation applications”.
The first Nutri V products will be rolling out in the coming months.
