AUSTRALIAN food producers are being encouraged to seize an unrealised opportunity to transform part of the nation's $50 billion annual food waste bill into profitable ingredients for the burgeoning local nutraceutical and food ingredients industry.
Sourcing local nutraceutical ingredients for vitamin and health supplements produced in Australia, an industry worth $4.7 billion annually, is a new challenge for Australia's agribusiness sector -- leveraging the value of respected all-Australian products especially in lucrative Asian markets.
The solution of transforming surplus horticulture and food waste, such as grape seed extract, into valuable nutraceutical ingredients is an aim of the proposed Fight Food Waste & Fraud Cooperative Research Centre.
The concept has the support of 47 industry and 11 research partners, with key participants from disparate industries cooperating and communicating in strategic collaborations.
Swisse Wellness, one of Australia's high profile health and vitamin brands, says it is keen to work with research organisations and other food industries to build local supply chains for its required raw ingredients.
"It's such an important value add for our products to be both sourced and manufactured in Australia, building on our clean, green and safe brand," says Swisse Wellness' Simon Woolmer.
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