Andrew Prest: Powered by Plants Director on reducing food waste by turning it into extracts, powders, concentrates

New Zealand scientists have developed a new technology to reduce food waste and import dependence. 

The waste system takes perishable food before it hits landfill and turns it into shelf-stable powders, concentrates, and extracts for food. 

Director of Powered by Plants Dr. Andrew Prest says the concept came from frustration with the current production model. 

He told Mike Hosking it's a good opportunity to address the country's environmental waste, as powders can be produced from almost any fruit or vegetable. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
From the New Idea Department. We've got a New Zealand
developed waste velarization system. It takes bruised and unsyllable produce
and powder rises it for use across a range of sectors.
Doctor Andrew prest is the CEO of powdered or powered
rather powered by a plant. Andrew morning to you, Good morning, Mike,
good morning t waste. So you take it and that

(00:21):
currently goes where to landfill or stock feed or whatever.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, it depends on the It depends on the product.
But definitely onions, especially in booker Coe, there's not a
lot of optionality for onions for stop feed, so most
of it either does go to landfill and actually some
still does end up in stock feed. But it's but
it's a real problem and a real opportunity for growers.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Can you put the same thing in? Can you put
anything in like onions and apples and pears and it
turns out to be the same thing or as an individual?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
No, No, the processes that an So we've we've developed
something that's very flexible, very agile, and with a bit
of upstream processing or pre processing, we can we can
manufacture powders and juice concentrates from pretty much any fruit
and vegetable that's surflus all waste. Is this a machine,
It's well, it's a it's a combination of machines that's

(01:21):
set up as a process which which creates a very
high throughput Lean process, which which maximize all of the
value from from what would have been waste.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
The reason I'm asking about the machines is, I'm assuming
you need to do it regionally because you don't want
to just take your rubbish onions and have to ship
them somewhere. So if you sit up regionally, it's it's
all localized.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Does that make sense? Correct? Right? Correct? Absolutely? So. You
know we've we've used Lean thinking on that, and that's
that's basically minimizing transport. You know a lot of Lean
consultants talk about tim woods, transport imagery, motion, weighting of production,
over puss and defects and wasted skills. This project addresses

(02:04):
all of those and creates local jobs and with the
lowest amount of energy and transport.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
What I like is you take something that was going
to the landfall anyway your process, and once you processed,
it's worth roughly on average five backs of quila so
you've invented something from nothing, essentially, haven't you.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
That's what Yes, Essentially, what we're doing is we've recognized
that there's a that we're a net importer of, let's say,
onion powders. We've worked with enter T on this access
their databases, and New Zealand imports over a thousand tons
of onion powder which goes into things like Magi oursuit mixes,

(02:45):
et cetera. And yet we're basically a net exporter of
breast produce, but a net importer of dried produce. What
we're doing is a left handy right hand opportunity where
we can actually take take the waste and sub partially
substitute or wholly substitut what's been currently imported from overseas
from markets that you know, are you know, vulnerable to disruption,

(03:08):
let's say, is a great opportunity for growers.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Do you have to do a capital rise? How have
you done it?

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yes? So initially we we worked with one really great
strategic grower in in pucke Coe and we applied for
funding from through the Waste Minimization Fund Fund and was successful.
But as you know, Mike with with with the the
pressures on grows at the mormenting pressures on everyone with

(03:35):
a with a co funding model, it still needs funds
from from growers to actually match that. And that's kind
of where we're stuck, is that you know, growers are
tapped out, and you know, it's it's it's it's a problem,
but it's also an opportunity. And if we work together
on this attract the right levels of investors, we can

(03:56):
even go back and actually get some co funding from
the government because they'reange in some of the rules still
within well trade organization regulations that will make it easy
to unlock the capital that we need.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
Good well, we wish you all the very best, well
that we'll stay in touch. Andrew pressed out Empowered by Plants.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
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Speaker 1 (04:17):
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