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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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Australian Ag Waste to be Turned into High Value Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals
USAgNet - 10/23/2019
Developed over the past year and officially launched Tuesday in South Australia, the A$11 million Research Consortium Program for Agricultural Product Development will be hosted at the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus.
It brings together 18 partners to develop high-value products from agricultural waste, including nine South Australian-based companies from the agriculture and food sector and a further nine national and international academic institutions and industry partners.
Research Consortium Lead Investigator Professor Vincent Bulone said up to 40 per cent of South Australia's primary production harvest could end up as waste, left to rot in the field or turned into low value products such as compost or animal feed.
"But all of this food waste contains compounds that have high-value potential applications," he said.
"Some can act as prebiotics or anti-oxidants; some have anti-inflammatory or anti-microbial properties; others, in particular carbohydrates, provide mechanical strength and texturising properties in food, lubricants, cosmetics and structural materials.
"We plan to increase the value of agricultural waste and create new post-farmgate industries worth over $100 million a year to South Australia."
Projects underway include isolating and identifying anthocyanins from apples and berries for use in skincare formulations and other health-promoting products; testing cellulose molecules from waste Brussels sprout stalks and other biomass as replacements for
glass fibres in filtration systems and plastic materials, and; extracting vitamin D, beta-glucans and chitosan from mushroom waste for use in nutraceuticals and sunscreen materials.
The consortium has been supported with a $4 million South Australian Government grant through the Research Consortia Program.
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