Swedish juice producer prevents food waste with GEA technology
The vacuum juicer GEA vaculiq, RSCUED can produce high-quality juices in the shortest possible time.
Image: GEA
The Swedish company RSCUED is using technology from GEA to process fruits and vegetables thrown away each year. According to a WWF study, 42 per cent of all cultivated fruits and vegetables worldwide are binned – even though they are eminently suitable for further processing.
RSCUED’s business concept is as sustainable as it is unconventional and required a special solution. With the vacuum juicer GEA vaculiq, RSCUED can produce high-quality juices in the shortest possible time from raw materials that would otherwise have fallen victim to waste. The icing on the cake: the waste from production is also recycled into valuable fertiliser.
On its way to food recycling, RSCUED has taken a big step forward together with the technical solution from GEA.
“The advantages of the GEA skid for us were the very short processing time, efficiency, high product quality and flexibility. We need to be able to respond to seasonal supply just as quickly as to fluctuating incoming goods,” explained Truls Christenson, co-founder of RSCUED. This is because the company receives the fruit and vegetables sorted out for regular trade via donations from wholesalers, supermarkets, farms and delivery services. Private individuals who have larger quantities from their gardens also participate in RSCUED’s appeal.
GEA vaculiq with its vacuum spiral filter delivers the desired flexibility in full measure: The system processes a ton of fruit or vegetables within about twenty minutes and cleaning the system between productions takes just five minutes. Different varieties can be turned into high-quality juice in quick succession. And it does so with maximum yield: in the first test phase, RSCUED was able to produce twice as much juice compared to its previously used press. With a capacity of up to 1,800 litres per hour, RSCUED is now able to easily increase its production in the future thanks to GEA vaculiq and is also capable of receiving goods – besides Sweden – from all over Northern Europe.
In addition, GEA‘s vacuum spiral filter technology was convincing in terms of quality. With this juicing method, the products do not come into contact with oxygen, which is known to have unfavourable effects on vegetables and fruits. In addition, the gentle process preserves all healthy vitamins and secondary plant nutrients. Finally, the juice produced with GEA vaculiq not only looks better, it also tastes fresher and has a longer shelf life.
“GEA‘s overall concept is therefore an innovative and unique solution for us in the field of sustainable, industrial juice production,” added Truls Christenson.
And so the circle closes for GEA and RSCUED: The dry mash discharged by the vaculiq plant, together with remaining rejects, is ideally suited as a basis for fertiliser – which, as is well known, promotes the growth of new fruits and vegetables. This fertiliser is finally distributed through a large garden centre chain in Sweden.
“When we founded RSCUED as a start-up seven years ago, we had the vision to stop the waste madness. Together with GEA, we have now been able to realise this on a higher level. With the new GEA vaculiq 100 vacuum juicer and the multiCrush milling system from GEA, we are very well positioned and can develop our production excellently”, said Truls Christenson. “And the faster, more flexible and more productive we are at RSCUED – the more we contribute to sustainability for a healthier planet.”
