December the 14th, 2021 - A Croatian student team has put agricultural waste to good use and created a vegan cake from it. The Not Your Ordinary Cookie team has created the ''Zdravko'' vegan delight, and it's likely to win many over.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, Dora Senjug, Virna Klara Tus and Dora Vlahovic from the Faculty of Food Technology, Fran Duspara from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and Hrvoje Magas from the Design of Visual Communications in Split make up the Not Your Ordinary Cookie team whi have come up with ''Zdravko''.
To speak more specifically, Zdravko is made with the addition of potato peel powder and industrial hemp seeds, and then stuffed with dried figs and carob. It is completely of plant origin, without any added sugar, and is characterised by a high content of dietary fiber and minerals desirable for a balanced diet.
"Our goal was to support Croatian farmers and family farms, so we got all the food we could get from them. We made sure that potential suppliers have a certificate of organic farming, ie they do not use pesticides,'' this Croatian student team explained.
They say they have seen the potential in the use of agrowaste, or by-products of processing various crops that are often thrown away, despite the high content of bioactive components such as vitamins, fiber minerals and antioxidants.
"We agreed that potato peelings, but also industrial hemp cake, are exactly what we want to work with because, in addition to being unjustifiably rejected, they're quality foods rich in fiber and minerals that have a positive effect on human health. Hemp bread has already started appearing on store shelves, but potato peelings also have undiscovered potential. Sustainability is an imperative of the modern food industry that we must turn to as soon as possible.
Apart from the fact that the by-products of the production of some crops can be put into other functional food products, as well as their individual components, they can also be used in other industries. For example, the peel of characteristically coloured fruits and vegetables is often discarded, and the pigments extracted from them have the potential to be used in the textile industry. Before we turn to synthetic substances, we might be surprised if we properly study the natural alternatives that we actually handle every day and often end up, unfortunately - in the bin,'' the Croatian student team emphasised.
Just how impressive and innovative their products are has been well and truly confirmed by them winning first place in the competition of student teams called Ecotrophelia Croatia 2021 which was held back in June at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology in Zagreb, which aims to encourage student creativity, innovation, interdisciplinarity and the promotion of food products on the demanding and fast-paced European market.
The Croatian student team is proud of them having won first place, because this is a kind of business incubator for eco-innovative food products, which included designing and preparing the product, thoroughly processing and explaining all of the nutritional qualities, devising the entire technical-technological plan (balance sheets, the design of the plant, and all associated devices), and developing a full and functional financial and marketing plan.
The European version was supposed to take place in Cologne in October, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organisers opted for an online form of competition this year as well. They won the 4th place back at that time, which is allegedly the highest place ever won by any Croatian team. In addition, they consider it a great success because they financed the project from their own, student pockets.
"We'd like to thank all those who helped up in the realisation of the Zdravko cake from the bottom of our hearts. It would be really nice to see our product on store shelves. Precisely because of the product itself and the affordability of the price we'd offer, we believe that customers would be quick to recognise the quality of Zdravko. We're researching options, there are many factors to consider - from the establishment of a company, all of the technological requirements and the like. We certainly hope that someone will see our potential, as well as the potential of our product, and that we'll manage to reach a common goal through cooperation and mentoring. Until then, of course, we'll do our best to be noticed. We hope that our example will motivate others to try to realise their ideas and projects, because the experience gained teaches you so much and no one can take it away from you. Who knows what kind of doors can be opened on the way,'' concluded this Croatian student team.
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