Hilcona, the Liechtenstein-based food producer, intends to integrate food by-products in the consumption cycle to a greater extent. To this end, Hilcona has entered into a strategic partnership with the Swiss start-up EggField.

Every year, an incredible amount of food, stretching to hundreds of thousands of tons, ends up unused or going to waste, ultimately consigned to the garbage. According to a press release, the food company Hilcona, together with the start-up EggField based in the canton of Zurich, is seeking to manufacture a plant-based alternative to eggs on the basis of unused food by-products generated in the production of hummus. This is a form of food upcycling that is intended to generate added value in the food value chain.

The basis of the new product is the water used to cook the chickpeas when making hummus. According to information from the manufacturers, 24 tons of cooking water – which previously had to be disposed of as waste – were used to produce 300,000 plant-based egg substitutes last year. In the current year, this figure is set to be doubled.

“We are convinced that, in future, we will no longer have any other option: we will simply have to use the resources at our disposal more effectively”, comments Ried Steiger, CFO and Head of Supply Chain at EggField, in the press release.

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