23 Mar Bell pepper – utilisation of rejects
There is a large waste flow of odd shaped and sized bell peppers, since there is little or no application. Even as animal feed they are not a success. The idea to do something with these rejects arose during a conversation between FoodTech Brainport, Bodec and Keep Food Simple.
In the Netherlands, peppers are mainly grown in greenhouses and on artificial soil; in total about 1,350 ha. The quantity produced is about 350,000 tons per year. About 2% of the peppers harvested is lost, 7,000 tons per year!
In March 2021, a student from Wageningen University and Research will start an internship at Bodec and FoodTech Brainport entitled: The ultilization of bell pepper rejects in foods or food ingredients. This study pays special attention to carotenoids, capsanthin and the ‘spicy’ substances in the peppers.