Alina Warren-Walker
With a background in academia, farming, and horticulture, I have developed a strong focus on sustainable agriculture and the innovative use of waste and by-products for food and drink applications within farming systems. By identifying waste streams in food production, I strive to transform them into valuable resources through advanced spray drying techniques, valorising waste and improving the efficiency of the food system.
I am the Director and lead Spray Drying Specialist at Cleobury, an innovative SME based in Mid-Wales, specialising in the cultivation of high-value, novel crops on elevated terrain and the processing of food production waste streams into high-quality nutritional powders to be used as supplements, ingredients and nutraceuticals. We create shelf-stable products with concentrated nutrients, active compounds and vitamins/minerals designed for various applications, including human nutrition, animal feed, and fertilisers.
As a Nuffield Farming Scholar sponsored by The Alastair and Margaret Miller Charitable Trust, my research focuses on exploring global methods for valorising waste in fruit and vegetable production. I aim to apply these insights to support UK farmers and producers by turning horticulture waste and by-products into valuable resources.
Valorising waste/surplus streams from fruit and vegetable growing through encapsulation
Alastair and Margaret Miller Charitable Trust
Study Overview
How can we most efficiently valorise horticulture waste and by-products? With increasing pressures on sustainability and food production, finding innovative ways to reduce waste and preserve the nutrient content of food is more important than ever. My research focuses on valorising waste streams from fruit and vegetable horticulture production through encapsulation and spray drying techniques. These innovative methods can transform by-products into valuable ingredients, nutraceuticals or supplements, reducing environmental impact and increasing economic revenue for producers. While my primary focus is fruit and vegetable waste, I aim to explore how encapsulation and spray drying can be applied across different agricultural/horticulture sectors. The circular economy model is gaining momentum, but is it truly scalable for farming in the UK, especially on elevated Welsh terrain? Government policies and incentives are likely to play a crucial role in the success of the circular economy model. My goal is to bring back insights to the UK on where waste valorisation through drying is succeeding globally to create secondary, marketable products and how these approaches can be adapted and implemented within UK agriculture to improve sustainability and efficiency.