Westfalia Fruit introduces sustainable dye extraction from avocado byproducts

Avocados imported for retail, food service, and wholesale customers are carefully inspected. Any unsuitable avocados are processed at Westfalia Fruit’s facility into products like avocado pulp, mashed avocado, guacamole, and more.

The avocado skins and seeds from the process, which were previously typically used in low-value applications such as anaerobic digesters, are now finding new, innovative, higher-value alternative uses.

Having partnered with Efficiency Technologies, the valorisation of the entire byproduct channel of avocado skins and stones is assessed to optimise use, with the most recent development being an innovative technology extracting a natural, sustainable dye from avocado stones, with SAGES London.

This marks a significant advancement in total crop utilisation; the process extracts perseorangin (a rare and sought-after natural pigment) from avocado stones collected at Westfalia’s UK facility. The pigment offers eight distinct shades ranging from light yellow to rich reddish-brown, creating new opportunities for sustainable colouring solutions across multiple industries.

The specialised extraction method isolates perseorangin, which constitutes approximately 3% of the avocado stone, and processes it into a dried powder form, offering extended shelf life.

This breakthrough represents a significant step in our journey towards our total crop use strategy,” says Andrew Mitchell, Head of Group Innovation at Westfalia Fruit. “By transforming what was once considered a byproduct into a valuable resource, we’re creating sustainable solutions that benefit multiple industries.

The ability to produce eight distinct natural shades while maintaining our commitment to using the entire fruit demonstrates the potential of innovative thinking in sustainable agriculture.”