What usually gets tossed after food processing could end up back on the shelf, this time as vitamin C.
Researchers from Swansea University and nutrition startup BIOVIT are exploring how to recover nutrients that are stripped away during food processing instead of discarding them, according to Swansea Bay News. The work is backed by Innovate UK and focuses on agricultural leftovers and food-processing byproducts.
BIOVIT says preliminary findings suggest fruit and vegetable material can lose up to 60 percent of its vitamins and minerals during processing. Researchers are trying to develop a way to capture and repurpose that lost material.
At Swansea University’s Natural Products BioHUB, the aim is to turn discarded food-processing material into a more sustainable, naturally sourced replacement for synthetic vitamin C.
Dr Farooq Shah, director of BioHUB, told Swansea Bay News that turning the waste into useful supplements can help support circular manufacturing and strengthen local food supply chains.
The project targets a problem with a big footprint. Food waste is costly, resource-intensive and environmentally damaging, and some food-processing leftovers cannot simply be donated or eaten. In many cases, those materials must be handled carefully so they are safe for human consumption.
If researchers can safely extract nutrients from those leftovers, it would keep more resources in use instead of throwing them away. It could also give manufacturers another source of vitamin C for supplements and fortified foods, which are widely made with synthetic versions.
Ky Wright, founder and CEO of BIOVIT, told Swansea Bay News: “Most supplements and fortified foods still rely on artificial vitamins, often produced through synthetic processes. We believe there is a better way.”
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