No one wants food to go to waste.
That’s the bottom line of a just-released report that explores more commercial opportunities for ‘process grade’ fruit grown in Central Otago. The goal is to help reduce fruit loss.
Fruit loss is fruit that is grown for human consumption but does not end up being sold for human consumption. Instead it is lost on property or in production (orchard and packhouse). Fruit loss accounts for about 6000 tonnes or 15% of fruit grown in Central Otago.
Processing options explored in the report include juicing, concentrates, freeze drying and freezing. At present 11% of the harvested fruit is processed.
In October 2021, Central Otago District Council (CODC) released Stage 1 of a fruit loss study and a report into understanding fruit loss.
The opportunity to see more of our fruit used, and not go to waste, brought parties together to move into Stage 2 of the project. Three workstreams were created to increase the knowledge base and understand options to help reduce fruit loss.
The workstreams were funded by CODC, Summerfruit NZ, Lilo Desserts, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund and Bioresource Processing Alliance. Work was undertaken by Otago University, Plant and Food Research, and Appetite for Change Limited.
The focus was apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, and nectarines, and the research identified:
1) Current processing capacity and constraints in the district
2) Fruit health benefits and properties, and product development trends
3) Demand trends locally and globally.
Initial findings were presented to over 50 local growers, processors and interested parties in Alexandra, in November 2022. The reports from each workstream have now been finalised and are available on the Council’s website (Stage 2): www.codc.govt.nz/services/economic-development/fruit-loss
The report identified frozen fruit as the most common method requested for the New Zealand market, allowing year-round supply of fruit to processors.
For the international market, interest had been expressed by a UK company in sourcing samples of Otago cherry extracts.
Investment in, or access to research to support, the growing health and wellness market could lead to more market opportunities for cherries or the prebiotic/fibre derived from apples.
Stage 3 on the project begins this month, and involves promoting the reports, meeting with potential investors interested in collaborating, and exploring the next steps, CODC Economic Development Manager Nick Lanham said.
“Reducing fruit loss could also provide the opportunity for growers to move up the value chain through their processing activities, to grow and diversify the local economy.”
From a Summerfruit NZ perspective, the project and reports provided some excellent insights into the opportunities to gain value from waste fruit, but also identified challenges, Summerfruit New Zealand Research Manager Sally Anderson said.
"It’s these challenges that the collective will need to work through if future opportunities might be realised. It seems that there are opportunities and Summerfruit NZ would be keen to continue to support these initiatives now that the groundwork has been laid."
“Collaboration will be key to solving these challenges," Lilo Desserts co-founder Cleo Gilmour said. Her company specialises in using and celebrating local fruit in a new range of ready to eat cheesecakes.
"New Zealand grows some of the world’s most nutritious and delicious fruit in the world, and the Central Otago provenance story is underutilised in our export marketing. While processing capacity is still a challenge, focusing on the taste and nutrients of our fruit will widen opportunities for growers and help grow New Zealand’s reputation as a premium food producer.”
