[ASTRA FOOD PLAN Co., Ltd.]
[Food Loss Reduction Month] On October 1st, a special menu using “Gururiko (R)” will be available at the “Saitama Prefecture Fair – Autumn Harvest Festival” held by Kawagoe Prince Hotel.
*ASTRA FOOD PLAN Co., Ltd.*
Press release: September 18, 2024
**
[Food Loss Reduction Month] On October 1st, a special menu using “Gururiko (R)” will be available at the “Saitama Prefecture Fair – Autumn Harvest Festival” held by Kawagoe Prince Hotel.
*[Period] October 1st (Tuesday) to November 30th (Saturday), 2024 A restaurant fair featuring a variety of Saitama foods to promote food loss reduction and circular economy. *
ASTRA FOOD PLAN, a food tech venture whose mission is “realizing a sustainable society”
Co., Ltd. (Fujimi City, Saitama Prefecture, President and CEO: Chihiro Kano, hereinafter referred to as ASTRA FOOD PLAN)
As part of the Food Circular Economy Project 2024 (hereinafter referred to as Saitama CEPJ2024), the Kawagoe Prince Hotel (location: Shintomi-cho, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture) will be held from October 1st (Tuesday) to November 30th (Saturday), 2024.
1-22, general manager: Yasuharu Miyake) will be holding three types of “Saitama Prefecture Fair ~Autumn Harvest Festival~”, which will be held at five restaurants in the hotel. We are pleased to inform you that a chef-arranged menu using Gururiko (R) (*2) will be available. “Saitama Prefecture Fair – Autumn Harvest Festival” is a restaurant fair featuring a variety of Saitama foods, and is held in conjunction with Food Loss Reduction Month in October and Saitama Prefectural Citizen’s Day in November.
Kawagoe Prince Hotel and ASTRA FOOD
In addition to reducing food loss, PLAN provides an opportunity to communicate the appeal of Saitama ingredients through food and to think about the circular economy and SDGs.
(*1) What is hidden food loss?
Food waste that is not included in general “food loss”, such as vegetable scraps generated at food factories and substandard agricultural products generated at production areas. It is estimated that there are approximately 20 million tons per year.
(*2) What is Gururiko (R)?
A general term for food powder made by drying and powdering
substandard agricultural products and vegetable scraps using a superheated steamer. It is characterized by its high nutritional value and concentrated aroma and flavor.
*Overview of “Saitama Prefecture Fair ~Autumn Harvest Festival~”* [Period] October 1st (Tuesday) to November 30th (Saturday), 2024 [Venue] Kawagoe Prince Hotel (Location: 1-22 Shintomicho, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture)
– Buffet Restaurant Etoile
– Japanese food Musashino
– Chinese restaurant Kukiden
– Lobby Lounge
– Main Bar Windsor
[Cooperation] Saitama Prefecture, ASTRA FOOD PLAN
Co., Ltd., Koedo Kagamiyama Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., Kyodo Shoji Co., Ltd. Koedo Brewery Co., Ltd., Matsuzaki Co., Ltd., Toa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., Musashi Winery Co., Ltd., Chichibu Farmers Factory Usuda Winery Co., Ltd. (in no particular order)
View details
* Collaboration history and background *
* Launched “Saitama Food Circular Economy Project 2024”. Aiming to build a circular food cycle within Saitama Prefecture*
ASTRA FOOD PLAN will start from 2023 with “Saitama
Starting with the Food Circular Economy Project, we are collaborating with industry, government, and academia to create a circular food cycle. ASTRA will remove “hidden food loss” such as substandard agricultural products that have been discarded in the region and vegetable scraps generated at food factories.
FOOD
We use PLAN’s proprietary drying technology, “superheated steamer,” to pulverize it and process it into food powder “Gururiko (R),” which we upcycle into cooking menus and processed foods together with local businesses.
At this event, we will offer locally produced and locally consumed menus that use plenty of vegetables from Saitama Prefecture, as well as menus that use “Gururiko (R)” produced within the prefecture. ▼Press release regarding “Saitama Food Circular Economy Project 2024”
* Awareness of food loss reduction for “Food Loss Month” *
Approximately 5 million tons of food loss occurs annually in Japan, and on May 31, 2019, the “Act on Promotion of Food Loss Reduction” (abbreviation) was enacted.
The Food Loss Reduction Promotion Act) was promulgated and came into effect on October 1st. For this reason, October, when the law came into effect, has been designated as “Food Loss Reduction Month,” and October 30th has been designated as “Food Loss Reduction Day.” During “Food Loss Reduction Month,”
We decided to implement this event because we wanted people to become more familiar with the problem of food waste by eating Gururiko (R), which is made from vegetable scraps generated at the Shina factory.
▼October is “Food Loss Reduction Month” and October 30th is “Food Loss Reduction Day” (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) https://www.maff.go.jp/j/press/shokuhin/recycle/230929.html
*Details of the menu using “Gurriko(R)”*
* ■Buffet Restaurant Etoile (9F) *
[Menu name]
・Low-temperature cooking of pork from Saitama, vegetable sauce with carrots ・Milano-style pork cutlets from Saitama, Espanol sauce with onions ・Breadcrumb-grilled white fish with burdock root and saffron sauce [Price] Weekdays lunch buffet ¥3,500 / Saturdays and holidays lunch buffet ¥4,500
[Gurriko used] Onion Gururiko, Carrot Gururiko, Burdock Gururiko * ■Japanese cuisine Musashino (2F) *
[Menu name] Shusai mini kaiseki
“Saitama prefecture Sangenton pork cutlet with round onions, Chichibu miso” [Price] ¥6,500
[Gurriko used] Onion Gururiko
* ■Chinese restaurant Kukiden (2F) *
[Menu name] Crystal course
“Cantonese-style Chinese porridge with burdock root”
[Fee] ¥10,000
[Used Gururiko] Burdock Gururiko
* About “Gurriko (R)” *
It is a general term for food powder made by drying and upcycling ingredients that would have previously been thrown away, such as substandard agricultural products and scraps from food factories. A coined word combining the keyword “gururi”, which refers to the aim of a sustainable and circular food cycle and the manufacturing process of drying and sterilizing raw materials while spinning them, and the words “collaborate”, “cooperation”, and “ko”, which stands for powder. So, ASTRA
It is a trademark of FOOD PLAN.
“Gururiko (R)” is manufactured by drying and sterilizing it in just 5 to 10 seconds using a “superheated steamer”, and as the food deterioration due to heat is extremely low, it is highly nutritious and has a very good flavor. It is characterized by being strong.
“Onion Gururiko (R)” is known to have a 135 times stronger aroma than commercially available hot-air dried products, and can impart a candy-colored onion flavor with just a small amount of addition. Distribution began in January 2023 for commercial use, primarily as an ingredient in onion bread for bakery chains, and from July 2024 it will also be sold to the general public on mail order sites.
For home use, it is popular as a time-saving seasoning that saves you the trouble of chopping onions and frying them for a long time.
“Raw materials” for “Gururiko (R)” used at the Saitama Prefecture Fair
Three types are used in the fair’s dishes: “Onion Gururiko (R)”, “Carrot Gururiko (R)”, and “Burdock Gururiko (R)”. The ingredients are made from ingredients that had become “hidden food waste” in Saitama Prefecture.
* ■Onion (Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture) *
The onion scraps generated at Yoshinoya Holdings’ vegetable processing center are used.
onion scraps
Onion Gururiko
■Carrots (JA Irumano)
The raw material is carrots that are split, split into two, or damaged. JA Irumano collects cargo from local producers, sorts it out, and only uses products that do not meet the standards.
Substandard carrots
Carrot Gururiko
■Burdock (Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture)
At Sugiyama Co., Ltd., we use scraps and darkened parts from the process of cutting burdock root for produce into specified bag sizes, as well as cut scraps generated during the process of processing burdock root into julienned burdock for delicatessen products. Burdock scraps
Burdock Gururiko
Stakeholder comments
* ■Kawagoe Prince Hotel General Manager Mr. Yasuharu Miyake* This time, for the first time, we will be holding a restaurant fair “Saitama Prefecture Fair ~ Autumn Harvest Festival ~” using
ingredients and specialty products from Saitama Prefecture at five restaurants in Kawagoe Prince Hotel.
In addition to menus using seasonal autumn ingredients, enjoy a variety of menus arranged by our chefs using ingredients such as “Bushu Wagyu Beef”, “Vegetables from Saitama Prefecture”, and “Jinko Udon from Saitama Prefecture”. At the same time, we hope to create an opportunity for our customers to become interested in the global environment and reduce food waste through food, and to learn deliciously and in a fun way.
FOOD
With the cooperation of PLAN Co., Ltd., we have also prepared menus using high value-added powder “Gururiko (R)” created by upcycling unused resources.
Little Edo Kawagoe is about an hour from the center of Tokyo, and you can enjoy the quaint townscape.
We will provide smiles and an extraordinary space for not only those visiting Kawagoe sightseeing but also Saitama residents to enjoy the charm of Saitama ingredients to the fullest.
We look forward to seeing you at the Kawagoe Prince Hotel “Saitama Prefecture Fair ~Autumn Harvest Festival~”.
* ■ASTRA FOOD PLAN Co., Ltd. Representative Director and President Chihiro Kano* Kawagoe Prince is very familiar to me, and I have visited there many times for meals with my family since I was a child. We are very happy that such a local hotel has adopted “Gururiko (R)” and is using it for many wonderful menus.
Using the “superheated steamer” we developed, we have established the ability to process various unused ingredients into delicious powder, but if they are not turned into final products such as dishes or processed foods, they will not reach the point of consumption. I can’t. We would be grateful if many people could actually contribute to the reduction of “hidden food loss” by having many people enjoy delicious menus using “Gururiko (R)”.
Our future theme is how to deliver “Gururiko (R)” to general consumers. In addition to collaborating with hotels and restaurants like we did this time, we would like to focus on our own sales through EC.
*For companies considering initiatives related to “SDGs” and “food loss reduction”*
We are looking for companies that would like to use Gururiko (R), a high-value-added powder created by upcycling unused resources, as a raw material for cooking menus, breads, sweets, and processed foods. Please feel free to contact us.
Contact: https://www.astra-fp.com/contact/
* “ASTRA FOOD PLAN” aims to build a circular food cycle *
ASTRA FOOD PLAN is a food tech venture that develops and sells a food drying device “Superheated Steamer” that uses superheated steam technology.
The “Superheated Steamer” has achieved high production efficiency and cost performance, so it can be used to process unused agricultural products such as vegetable scraps generated at food factories and substandard products, which previously could not be used effectively due to cost issues. , beverage waste, etc. can be upcycled into high value-added ingredients. At the same time, we will sell the
“Superheat Steamer” to businesses facing the issue of food waste, and at the same time, we will work with food manufacturers to develop applications for the new food ingredient “Gurriko (R)” made with this device. By doing so, we aim to solve the food loss problem.
Approximately 4 times the amount of general food waste. The reality of “hidden food loss” amounting to 20 million tons per year
Currently, “food loss,” such as unsold food at convenience stores and mass retailers, which is discarded even though it is edible, is becoming a problem. However, the amount of “food loss” that is generally recognized does not include food waste such as vegetable cores, skins, and stems, and unused agricultural products such as substandard agricultural products and surplus agricultural products generated at the production area. .
According to the Ministry of the Environment’s “Estimated amount of food loss in Japan (FY2020)” (*3), food loss in Japan in 2022 is estimated to be approximately 4.72 million tons, but The Ministry of Fisheries has compiled the “Utilization Status of Food Waste, etc. (FY2018 Estimate)” (*4), which states that “food-derived waste, etc.” includes inedible parts such as food scraps and unused agricultural products. It is known that food loss amounts to 25.31 million tons, making it a major social issue.
ASTRA FOOD
PLAN calls the 20 million tons (*5) of food waste annually, which is about four times the amount of general food loss, “hidden food loss,” and is working to reduce and upcycle it.
(*3) “Estimated amount of food loss in Japan (FY2020)”
https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_03332.html
(*4) Consumer Affairs Agency “Learn about food loss”
https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_policy/information/food_loss/education/ (*5) “20 million tons of hidden food loss per year” = “25.31 million tons (food-derived waste, etc.)” – “approximately 5.7 million tons (food loss that is discarded even though it is edible)”
About superheated steamer
The “superheated steamer” is a device that can dry and sterilize food at the same time, while suppressing the deterioration of food flavor, oxidation, and loss of nutritional value. The following three characteristics make it possible to upcycle inedible parts of vegetables, rice bran, fruit pomace, and beverage waste into high-value-added ingredients.
* 1. Prevents flavor deterioration and oxidation of ingredients * High temperature steam of several hundred degrees
Using superheated steam suppresses oxidation of ingredients, preventing loss of nutritional value and deterioration of flavor. It is also known that the umami components of some ingredients increase, and the nutritional value of vitamin E, β-carotene, and folic acid is higher than when hot air drying is used.
* 2. Achieves low cost and high production efficiency *
We have developed a boilerless superheated steam generator, and by using it in conjunction with hot air, we have achieved an extremely energy efficient drying and sterilization technology. It is a continuous type with high production efficiency, overcoming the cost issues of conventional drying technology.
* 3. Speed sterilization drying *
The heating time for food in a superheated steamer is only 5 to 10 seconds. While short-term heating suppresses food deterioration, the superheated steam effectively sterilizes food, making it safe to process.
Product name: Superheated steamer
Release date: April 4, 2022
*“Superheated steamer” catalog download https://www.astra-fp.com/download/ * Company Profile*
ASTRA FOOD PLAN Co., Ltd.
URL: https://www.astra-fp.com/
Head office location: 1-10-26 Tsuruse Higashi, Fujimi City, Saitama Prefecture Representative Director: Chihiro Kano
Established: August 2020