QMU food researchers use dehydration to help café reduce food waste

Thanks to an award from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the community-led research project is exploiting the use of food dehydration processes to reduce fruit and vegetable waste.  

The project, which is run by QMU’s Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation in collaboration with Café Recharge CIC, a community food project in Galashiels, has secured funding to develop their food waste reduction project.  

The initiative is one of 16 community-led research projects to have been successful in the RSE ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’: Community-led Research Awards. These awards support research that promotes the health of individuals by fostering healthy communities, healthy environments, and healthy food. 

Café Recharge operates in Galashiels as a community hub and “pay what you can afford” Café. The food served in the cafe uses surplus and predominantly rescued from supermarkets; as well as offering a community fridge and freezer for local people.  

Caroline Timmins, Product Development Technologist at QMU’s Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation, is leading the collaborative research. She said: “Café Recharge is always looking at ways to reduce food waste and maximise the use of the surplus produce donated from supermarket chains.  

“Through our joint project ‘Rescue. Preserve. Nourish: Turning Surplus into Sustenance’ we hope to make an even more significant impact on the reduction of fruit and vegetable waste in the café by experimenting with dehydration methods.” 

Caroline explained: “We will be looking at the efficiency of dehydration, building a framework for the process, and creating a calendar to track rescued surplus food. The Café team will also facilitate “Chat and Chop” events, which will involve members of the local community preparing surplus fruit and veg, which will then be dehydrated.  

“The goal is to prepare recipe cards and videos that demonstrate how to use dehydrated produce so that the café’s community clients can make healthy, tasty meals.” 

"Support from the Royal Society of Edinburgh not only allows the team to pursue efficiencies in food management, it helps Café Recharge progress its mission to reduce food waste and promote sustainability in the community. It also aligns with QMU’s Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation aims of supporting small and medium sized food organisations and exploiting innovation in food processing and product development."

Professor David E Salt FRSE, Chair of the Williamson Trust, who has provided the investment for the RSE awards, said: “Applications to the ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People Community-led Research Awards’ continue to grow, demonstrating the strong desire of communities in Scotland to develop local solutions to the ongoing global challenges to our environment, our communities and our food.”