About

DEMETER investigates new pathways to increase resource efficiency in the agrifood value chain via four pre-defined biorefinery pathways for the valorisation of veg­etable residues that currently are not valorised and are seen as a net loss for the vegetable growers and first transformation industries.

These four pathways are the production of high-quality juices, bulk juices, cold and hot soup production and cracking of pomace and processing residues into functional ingredi­ents for human consumption.

The overall objective of the project is to establish a more sustainable and resilient agrifood value chain. Thanks to the differentiation in valorisation pathways and higher added value products produced out of residues, farmers will generate a higher price for their production and reduce the losses in terms of raw materials and money. Food processors will be able to guarantee more stable prices for the entire harvests to the farmers. This will strengthen the long term relationship between the vegetable grower and the food processing companies.

Results

DEMETER includes research and industrial expertise from players through the complete agrifood value chain, from farmer to food processor. The research in the project focuses on crops in which the involved companies are mainly active and have huge residue losses: carrots, beetroot, broccoli, leek and pomace from apple and orange juice production.

It is expected that the project will identify the most suitable biorefining solutions, technolo­gies and process parameters for direct processing of the side streams onsite at the vege­table collection and primary processing plants.

For each biorefinery pathway, DEMETER will include economic feasibility and a life cycle assessment (LCA) study. By the end of 2022, the industrial partners in the project aim to valorize at least 33% of their annual volume of secondary raw materials, with a minimum profit margin of 10%.