For several years now, esenco has been using upcycling to produce some of ingredients. For us, this means recycling “co-product” ingredients that are recovered from a raw material in order to create a new product, rather than them being unused and thrown away.
In this way, we can combat food waste, and develop relevant ingredients with effects on human health while meeting a sustainable nutrition objective.
Here are a few examples of our ingredients derived from co-products in our various ingredient categories.
upcycling in our vegetal fibers category
Plant fibers correspond to non-digestible parts of plants. Generally classified as ‘soluble’ or ‘insoluble’ fibers, vegetal fibers is naturally contained in fruit, vegetables and whole grains. The fibers are recognised for the improvement of the digestive sphere, cardiovascular protection, strengthening immunity, … They are also more and more used in the food and food supplement industries for their technical and functional properties.
our apple fibers
The apple is used as a raw material to make simple or concentrated apple juice after crushing and pressing. The apple residue, known as pomace, is the co-product that is recovered and then dehydrates and ground. The powder obtained from apple pomace is rich in fiber.
our pea fibers
The pod and the peas it contains pass through separation and sorting systems. The peas are selected and then used in the agri-food industry. The husks that are not recovered can be used, thanks to their insoluble fiber content, in powder form after being ground.
our buckwheat fibers
Only buckwheat grains are used to produce buckwheat flour after grinding. The buckwheat hulls are recovered and ground to obtain a powder rich in fiber.
Did you know?
Buckwheat hulls can also be used as a natural pillow filling. They stimulate a good sleeping position and can relieve neck and shoulder pain.
upcycling in our yeast powder and extract category
our beta-glucan extracts
The natural raw material used to obtain our beta-glucan extracts comes from the co-products of brewers in Europe: brewing cream containing brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
Brewer’s yeast comes from the fermentation of barley, hops and water that takes place during beer production. These yeasts are then recovered in the brewing cream, which is extracted using an innovative process to obtain a high-quality natural ingredient. Yhe yeast wall then undergoes a whole production, separation and extraction process to retain only the layer that is naturally rich in beta-glucans.
upcycling in our plant extract category
upcycling broccoli extract
Our broccoli extract is derived from the pieces not retained during the freezing sorting process for the agri-food industry. Broccoli co-products are then recovered to produce the dry broccoli extract after extraction.
our echinacea extract
Our echinacea extract are obtained from the different parts of the plant: root, aerial part, etc. This way we use 100% of the plant, nothing is lost.
our american ginseng extracts
The root hair is used as an extract in food supplements, and the rest of the root is used as food (soup, etc.). As a result, there is no waste and 100% of the resource is used.
Everything that is not used as food by the agri-food industry is recovered to give a second life to the bu-products, whether as a food supplement or for other, more surprising uses.
In this way, we are continuing to maximise the value of co-products to avoid food waste by trying to make 100% use of resources.
Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.