Apparo: ‘Highly functional’ upcycled sunflower protein isolates
Several firms at IFT were promoting upcycled ingredients, including Minnesota-based startup Apparo – which developed technology now being deployed by AB InBev/EverGrain on a commercial scale to extract highly functional barley protein from brewer’s spent grains – and is now turning its attention to another upcycled protein it reckons could have just as much potential: sunflower.
Apparo, said CEO Ian Mackay, can extract a highly functional protein from the protein-and fiber-rich cake left after sunflower seeds are pressed to extract oil: “We fully de-hull the seeds and then we press the seeds to get out as much oil as we can, without degrading the protein. Then out of the aqueous extraction process - we don't use any organic solvents - we get two proteins and a nutraceutical (chlorogenic acid) and create a flour that still has about 25-30% protein in it as well.
“It’s basically all food coming out, and could potentially double the revenue you could get from that seed.”
Image credits: Gettyimages/KLSbear(left) and Apparo (right)