EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 16 October 2014
EU research turning food waste into feed
Global demand for food is expected to increase by 70% by 2050, while a steep increase in
biomass use will also put pressure on agriculture. Feeding the world without damaging the
environment is the focus of World Food Day 2014 – and the goal of several EU-funded
research projects.
The EU is investing over €4 billion in research and innovation for a European bioeconomy
that makes the most of our renewable biological resources. Agriculture is a key
component, securing food production, ensuring the sustainable management of natural
resources, and supporting development in rural areas.
The EU is the source of 18% of world food exports, worth €76 billion. But in the EU and
elsewhere, agricultural waste is holding farmers back and costing taxpayers money –
between €55 and €99 per tonne.
Turning agricultural waste into animal feed – the solution favoured by EU-funded research
project NOSHAN – would open up new opportunities for farmers while cutting Europe’s
dependence on feed imports. This would, in turn, create new green jobs in waste
collection, treatment plants and feed manufacturing. The concept will be particularly
welcome in rural areas, where growth is less intensive than in urban areas, and where the
feed industry is a powerful economic engine.
“One third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally – a total 1.3
billion tonnes a year – and food processing produces a large amount of this waste,”
explained NOSHAN scientific coordinator Montse Jorba of the LEITAT Technological Center
in Spain. “Fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates of any food. This amounts
to a major squandering of resources, including water, land, energy, labour and capital.”
The NOSHAN project will turn food waste – in particular fruit, vegetables and dairy – into
animal feed, at low cost and, while keeping energy consumption low.
The team – research centres, a university and companies from six EU countries plus
Turkey – began in 2012 by assessing the value of various types of waste, building up a
database of potential feed ingredients. By the time the project ends in 2016, the team will
also know the best technologies for extracting and upgrading each waste type.
NOSHAN also presents Europe’s agricultural sector with an opportunity to achieve greater
sustainability. Using bio-waste as a resource will help the sector to reduce its
environmental impact.
The processes developed by the project will help agri-businesses to recover the calories
contained in food thrown away, the energy that went into producing this food and also
lead to a significant decrease in water use (food waste accounts for more than a quarter of
total global freshwater consumption). By reducing the need for separate feed production,
the NOSHAN approach could reduce increasing competition between food and feed
production – both of which need land and water.
IP/14/1165
NOSHAN is also working on functional feed ingredients derived from food waste that target
specific animal needs, such as health promotion or disease prevention. For example,
researchers are currently identifying functional fibres and peptides (chemical compounds)
within waste. These will be used to develop feed products tailored to pigs and poultry.
Safety is guaranteed through an intensive monitoring process, covering everything from
raw waste to the final product. Safety, together with the technical and economic viability
of each process studied, will ultimately decide which strategies and products the NOSHAN
team commercialises.
“The bioeconomy in Europe is worth 2 trillion euro and provides 22 million jobs, which is
why it is a focus of Horizon 2020,” said EU Research, Innovation and Science
Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. “Projects like NOSHAN bring together researchers
and businesses to boost our economy and our quality of life in a sustainable manner.”
Background
The NOSHAN project has been awarded just under €3 million in funding under the
European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological
Development (2007-2013). It brings together research institutes, a University, large
industries and SMEs in the food sector from Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, the
Netherlands and Turkey.
On 1 January 2014, the European Union launched a new research and innovation funding
programme called Horizon 2020. Over the next seven years almost €80 billion will be
invested in research and innovation projects to support Europe’s economic
competitiveness and extend the frontiers of human knowledge. The EU research budget is
focused mainly on improving everyday life in areas like health, the environment,
transport, food and energy. Research partnerships with the pharmaceutical, aerospace,
car and electronics industries also encourage private-sector investment in support of
future growth and high-skilled job creation. Horizon 2020 will have an even greater focus
on turning excellent ideas into marketable products, processes and services.
For more information
NOSHAN: http://noshan.eu
Horizon 2020 website: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/
Contacts :
Michael Jennings (+32 2 296 33 88) Twitter: @ECSpokesScience
Monika Wcislo (+32 2 298 65 95)
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