{"id":18793,"date":"2015-07-29T11:34:08","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T15:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=18793"},"modified":"2015-07-29T11:34:08","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T15:34:08","slug":"startup-fopo-food-powders-freeze-dries-nearly-expired-fruit-hopes-to-lessen-food-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/startup-fopo-food-powders-freeze-dries-nearly-expired-fruit-hopes-to-lessen-food-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup FoPo Food Powders Freeze Dries Nearly Expired Fruit, Hopes To Lessen Food Waste"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Freeze-dried fruits have been included in backpacks of everyone from servicemen and women to campers<\/a>. They\u2019re lightweight and have a shelf life of years rather than days. And now mechanical engineering student, Kent Ngo, and his team over at FoPo Food Powder<\/a> is taking the idea to the next level. They collect nearly expired fruits from area grocery stores and turn them into powders. This clever idea rescues unsold or ugly fruits<\/a> from rotting in the trash and landfills.<\/p>\n

Although this isn\u2019t a new concept of food preservation, FoPo is \u201ccreating value out of the inefficiency of the food system,” as Co-Founder Gerald Marin shared with Mashable<\/a><\/em>. Rather than throwing away bananas, raspberries and other fruits, the water is removed through a freeze drying process, and then they’re pulverized. The fruit powders retain 30-80 percent of its original nutritional value. They then can be blended into new recipes, mixed with water, or eaten alone. If it all sounds too good to be true, or if you just want to learn more, check out FoPo\u2019s\u00a0official explanation of their concept and business plan:<\/p>\n