ORFI®-coatings: vegetable-based coatings full of fiber

Food manufacturing side streams often contain valuable micronutrients. ORFI^®-food, a Groningen-based company whose name stands for Oil Reducing Food Ingredients, is developing new applications for upcycling such side streams, which often are full of fiber and rich in protein, minerals and vitamins.

ORFI^®-food developed a technology to dehydrate this pulp and turn it into little balls, which are in turn ground into fiber-rich coatings such as ‘bread’ crumbs. These ORFI^®-coatings absorb up to 30% less fat than traditional breadcrumbs. This effect is particularly noticeable when oven-heating breaded food products. When heated, the nutritional fiber absorbs water, which then repels fat. The crumbs are one of ORFI^®-food’s responses to the low-fat, low-calorie trend in food products. An additional benefit of using these crumbs is that it reduces costs.

The patented dehydration technology can be applied to side streams generated by potato, carrot, red beet and green bean processing. That enables us to create colored crumbs, which opens up a whole new market. The first vegetable-crumb product that ORFI^®-food developed is a fish nugget covered in carrot-crumb, a truly sustainable concept in all respects. The product is developed in collaboration with a company that converts fishery waste into fish nuggets. Small fish and cod waste are minced and turned into nuggets, which are then breaded using ORFI^®-food’s carrot crumbs.

ORFI^®-food’s vegetable crumbs are low-gluten and additive-free. They combine well with fish, chicken, schnitzels and deep-fried snacks. ORFI^®-food’s crumbs are a sustainable and healthy alternative to traditional breadcrumbs and are particularly well suited to low-fat preparation in an oven or air-fryer. The crumbs give products a great bite and what taste testers have called a ‘crunchy experience’.