Ecofriendly cold-pressed juice line gives ugly produce a second chance

Loop Juice will give some of the 6,000 tons of ugly produce destined for the dumpster a second life in the form of cold-pressed juices.

The juices will be healthy for consumers and their wallets theysell for about 40 per cent less than their competitors at $4.95 for 12 ounces instead of the typical $8 or $10.

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The owners of Loop Juice, JuliePoitras-Saulnier,FrdricMonetteand DavidCtare collecting the to-be discarded imperfect-lookingfruit and vegetables fromCourchesneLarose, a localdistribution company.

They say that even when companies donatetheir overflow to food banks there is always extra produce heading to the landfills.

FrdricMonetteis theco-founder of Loop Juice and vice president of operations atCourchesneLarose. He told CBC Montreal'sDaybreakthey felt the need to do their part after seeing how much waste inevitably happens in distribution.

FrdricMonetteteamed up with DavidCt, co-founder and president ofCrudessenceand RiseKombucha, along with sustainability specialist, JuliePoitras-Saulnierto launch the new product.

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Poitras-Saulniersaid there is no loss in the entire process. Even the pulp left over from the juicing is reused.

"We give it to a company that makes food for cats and dogs," she told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

The ugly produce issue is still fairly new to Canada.In the UK, the campaign Ugly Really is Beautiful is one of many initiatives seeking to educate consumers about food waste. The grocery store Sainsbury's has also stepped up and made a point of putting ugly produce on the shelves.

LoopJuice will be hitting shelves July 11. They are slated to be in 40 different grocery stores and health food stores in Quebec, including Les Marchs Tau, Les 5 Saisons andMetro supermarkets.

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