[Life] Food Upcycling

New Opportunities in Food Industry

Upcycling is an upward trend seen in American food industry. Upcycling is a compound word of “upgrade” and “recycle.” Food upcycling refers to upgrading abandoned food to a new product by adding values and ideas. There are two categories in food upcycling – making a new product using waste coming from producing food and changing abandoned aliment to new food products. Size of upcycling food market in the US was $52 billion in 2022 and it is expected to grow much as $83.26 billion by 2032.

Upcycling is more than simple utilization of abandoned food or aliment. It actually upgrade the value and usage of food. It reduces the amount of waste and also prevent additional resources used to reproduce the aliment or food. Upcycling is spotlighted globally because of its eco-friendly production and ethical consumption.

 One example of food upcycling is ‘Regrained SuperGrain+.’ It is products from Upcycled Foods, Inc. It uses the malted grain left over from brewing beer to produce a fiber- and protein-rich raw materials which can be used to make baking mix products or snacks.

 Companies which recognized the value and future of food upcycled food development formed the Upcycled Food Association (UFA) in 2019 and developed standards for upcycled food certification. To be certified as upcycled food, an ingredient must  be manufacture through a verifiable upcycling supply chain or contain a qualified percentage of upcycled ingredients per unit. According to UFA, 52 companies have been certified for upcycling, 222 products have been certified, and 82 materials have been certified as of now. The upcycled food market includes a wide range of companies and brands, including large retailers like Whole Foods Market and US Foods, as well as major businesses like Del Monte.

UFA Association Logo from UFA official website

 To find more details, check out UFA official homepage:

https://www.upcycledfood.org/