Zero-waste solutions for fruit and vegetable waste
One-third of global food production is wasted, causing significant resource loss and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The EU needs to develop sustainable solutions to address this issue. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PURE-WAY project will foster collaboration across sectors to develop innovative, zero-waste solutions for fruit and vegetable waste. The project will create green solvents for extracting valuable bioactive compounds, fermentation processes based on computational modelling, and a composting system using engineered microbial consortia. For instance, waste will be turned into functional beverages, as well as cosmetics, chemicals, and fertilisers. As such, the project paves the way for a sustainable, circular food economy in line with EU policies.
Objective
Globally, one-third of food production is wasted, leading to significant loss of resources and greenhouse gas emissions. Creating new, sustainable solutions to the problem of food waste is a pivotal goal of the EU. PURE-WAY aims to tackle this issue by fostering crosssectoral and multi-actor collaboration to devise new circular zero-waste solutions for fruit and vegetable waste. Together, we will develop cutting-edge biotechnologies: industrially applicable green solvents for extracting high added-value bioactive compounds; computational modeling-driven smart fermentation; and a next-generation eco-friendly composting system using specifically engineered synthetic microbial consortia. Through these innovative approaches, PURE-WAY will transform fruit and vegetable waste into functional foods with health benefits (2 functional beverages and natural cosmetics product), bio-based chemicals for eco-friendly solvents, and biofertilizers. The resulting technological advancements will help address key food system challenges, natural cosmetics, providing safe, nutritious, healthy and affordable food, and supporting sustainable agriculture practices. The project integrates 11 partners from 8 countries, including 6 from Europe, 1 from South America and 1 from North America, merging 6 academic and 5 non-academic partners to facilitate 70 secondments (224 months), 13 between academic to academic (50 months) and 57 secondments (174 months) between academic to non-academic representatives. By fostering knowledge and markedly cross-disciplinary skill exchanges, PURE-WAY will substantially enhance research and innovation capacities through reaching well-defined objectives. This holistic approach will decisively contribute to creating a sustainable, circular food economy, aligning with EU policies and global sustainability goals.
