Colruyt Group reuses its own bread waste to grow mushrooms. For the production of this circular product, they entered into a cooperation with ECLO, formerly known as 'Le Champignon de Bruxelles'. They have the know-how to process bread into substrate and grow different types of mushrooms on it. The test to valorise bread waste streams, driven by Colruyt Group's food innovation team, lasted 1.5 years and is a success. The first mushrooms, grown on Bio-Planet's bread residual streams, will be available in the Cru markets in Overijse, Antwerp and Ghent from mid-October.
Partnership for growing a circular product
Colruyt Group's food innovation team approached ECLO with the idea of valorising residual flows. This huge city farm in Brussels grows delicious mushrooms locally in a sustainable and circular manner, as well as micro-vegetables, and has the know-how for cultivation on residual streams. In this project, bread residues are processed into substrate, on which different types of mushrooms can grow. The substrate is used as a fertiliser for the gardeners' fields after the harvest. That way we get a circular product. "The partnership with Colruyt Group confirms our belief that local entrepreneurship in a circular economy by means of residual flows can be successful”, says Hadrien Velge, co-founder and CEO of ECLO.
Successful test
"We have been working for quite some time on a way to grow mushrooms on waste streams and are therefore very proud that we managed to realise this project together with our partner ECLO”, says Anna Gryseels, project leader in the food innovation team of Colruyt Group. The test project for growing mushrooms on bread waste took place in exclusive cooperation with ECLO and lasted 1.5 years. ECLO collects the bread residues from the Bio-Planet shop in Groot-Bijgaarden and processes it into substrate. After about 10 weeks, the mushrooms are ready to be picked. The mushrooms are of superior quality, have a long shelf life and a pleasant structure.
Reusing food surpluses
Colruyt Group is looking for solutions to combat food waste as much as possible. On the one hand, by focusing on the prevention of food surpluses (more than 97% of fresh and frozen products are actually sold thanks to efficient stock management) and, on the other hand, by reusing food surpluses (animal feed, biochemistry, reusing food to make other food such as tripe). The mushrooms on residual bread flows project also fits into this framework. "In 2020, bread represented about 14% of Colruyt Group's food surplus. That bread goes mainly into feeding pigs or is processed in sausages. By reusing it to grow mushrooms, we give it an extra life and contribute to less food waste and the circular economy where surpluses become raw materials again.
For more information: 
Colruyt Group
Email: [email protected]
Tel.: +32 02/363 55 45
Quentin Declerck 
ECLO
Email: [email protected]
Tel.: +32 0496 20 38 46
