Scientists investigate use of food co-streams in skin care

13-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 14-Aug-2012 at 10:41 GMT

European, Canadian, African and Indian researchers are developing together new ways of using the substantial co-streams from fish and oil plant processing with the aim of developing methods of reusing protein- and oil-rich side streams in a number of applications including skin care products.

Co-streams from the food industry are excellent sources of proteins and healthy oils for use in foods and cosmetics. However, at the moment these side streams are mainly used as fish and animal feed, for energy, or end up as waste.

Coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the APROPOS (Added value from high protein and high oil containing industrial co-streams) project seeks to enrich several co-stream components at once from food quality co-streams of rapeseed/canola/mustard and fish.

Ecological and effective

In particular, this project aims to promote the competitiveness of the SME sector and developing regional production units located near primary production.

“From the point of view of sustainable development, using high-quality side streams from fisheries, agriculture and the food industry is a better solution than expanding agriculture and the number of farmed animals,” says Raija Lantto, Technology Manager at VTT, coordinating the project.

“There is global demand for a waste-free biorefinery, processing natural products which improve human well-being.”

According to FAOSTAT statistics, the global catch of fish is about 90 million tonnes each year, of which Europe's share is around 13 million tonnes, and nearly half is used as human food.

Joint venture

In addition to VTT, the research partners in the European Commission's APROPOS project include the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the Lithuanian Aleksandras Stulginskis University, the Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network from Canada, the Energy Research Institute, India and the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Research organisations concentrate in developing eco-efficient biomechanical processing technologies and end-product solutions suitable for small enterprises. SMEs from various countries contribute to evaluate applicability and feasibility of the technologies.

The three-year APROPOS project runs on a budget of EUR 4 million, of which 70 per cent has been granted by the Commission.