07/08/2021

The New York City Food Waste Fair took place last month and was organized by The Sanitation Foundation. The panel was jointly promoted by the Upcycled Food Association and the Sanitation Foundation. Verum Ingredients Founder & CEO, Dr. Ricardo Dias, was an invited speaker at the discussion panel: “Upcycling: Food Waste as Opportunity for Innovation & Entrepreneurship”. The fruitful discussion was on the sustainability and nutritional features of upcycled ingredients and the opportunities for the food industry to use these ingredients in product development. The event gathered several professionals in several fields of food science, gastronomy, food upcycling, and policymakers to discuss the new trends in innovation to reduce food waste.

According to Project Drawdown, the global leader in ranking climate solutions, preventing food waste is the single most effective solution to prevent global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius. Moreover, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that, annually, roughly 30% of all food is wasted, about one billion tons, and one trillion dollars. The increased use of upcycled food ingredients by the industry is therefore a unique opportunity to minimize its impact on climate change.