During her PhD, Débora Campos had an idea! This idea consisted in the development of a technology that promoted the valorization of by-products that resulted from the food industry. Débora has already a technological patent that can separate natural ingredients from food waste. This technology would have an important impact on the reduction of food waste and on the environmental sustainability of food production systems.

Curious? Let’s “investigate" how food waste can be reused.

In the year 2017…

… AgroGrIN Tech is born, as the result of scientific research, carried out at the Portuguese Catholic University, Faculty of Biotechnology in Porto. Débora, at the time a PhD student in Biotechnology and Food Sciences and Engineering, investigated methodologies that would be of practical use for the reduction of food waste in industry. Throughout her PhD, and with the results obtained in it, the idea to transform these results into business ideas came up, so that AgroGrIN Tech would be an asset for the Portuguese food industries. She has also developed a patented technology for separating natural ingredients from food waste streams.

This is how the AgroGrIN Tech project arises, which aims to develop R&D studies in the area of ​​the valorization of industrial food by-products, in order to create value with the residues of the food industries.

This idea arises, not only due to the results that Débora obtained during her PhD, but also as a way of responding to the fact that, in current society, the transmission of scientific knowledge generated in Universities is not transmitted efficiently, to industries in general, thus promoting the circulation of academic knowledge in an industrial environment.

According to Débora, in the future…

… “the AgroGrIN Tech project aims to be a reference at national and international level, in terms of creative innovation, in the field of green and low-cost technologies". They intend to “produce and commercialize services, related to the implementation of downstream processes for the recovery of waste within the agro-food processing industries, with the application of innovative and high value methodologies, based on sustainability and quality, helping society to achieve the ecological balance.

In a more recent future, it will be done …

… the implementation of these innovative and technological processes in fruit processing companies for the valorization of their by-products, in order to reduce the negative impact of the deposition and transportation of residues from the food chain, and on the other hand to generate new products food. Such application will allow companies to transition to a circular economy, thus being able to be economically and environmentally sustainable. At this moment, they do not promote any type of action.

 The AgroGrIN Tech project is very promising…

… and was one of the winners of the EIT Food Innovation Prizes 2018 and Born from Knowledge Ideas 2019, promoted by the National Innovation Agency (ANI). 

In addition to Débora, the team is also made up of other elements,…

… all of them already with a lot of experience in the area of ​​food waste recovery. Ana Vilas Boas, has a master’s degree in Food Engineering from Faculty of Biotechnology in Catholic University of Porto and Ricardo Gómez-García is finishing his PhD in Biotechnology also at the Faculty of Biotechnology in Catholic University of Porto.

20% of the food produced is lost during its processing, so the AgroGrIN Tech project works for food sustainability,…

… due to its direct role in the food chain, through the “recovery of by-products generated in fruit and vegetable companies and the creation of new nutraceutical and food ingredients".

Nutraceutical ingredients have functional properties that can be therapeutic, translating this into physiological benefits. The production of these ingredients from the use of food waste, not only has benefits for the health of the consumer, but also contributes to the reduction of the exploitation of natural and productive resources, since the same amount of food will produce not only economic, but
also environmental and social value.

The resistance of the food industry to change its forms of production and the application of linear economic dynamics, to the detriment of the circular economy…

… are the main difficulties that AgroGrIN Tech faces right now.

AgroGrIN Tech is supported by governmental and European funds,…

… in order to be able to disseminate its mission and objectives to the whole society, at the same time that intends to make communities even more aware of the importance of the sustainability of food production in all stages of industries’ food supply chains.

Internationally,…

… market has been increasingly open to new possibilities. “We believe that the growth of this business idea will mainly go through internationalization, but without ever forgetting the roots of the development  generated “.

For AgroGrIN Tech,…

… “the application of a circular economy in society and the continued dissemination of sustainability concepts”, will allow society to become more aware of the finitude of the planet’s resources and the need to transform our daily lives.

Get to know more about AgroGrIN Tech on:

Website: agrogrintech.com

Facebook: @agrogrintech

Instagram: @agrogrintech