Penn State finds cost-effective method to recover fat from ice cream waste

Researchers at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences found a method to recover large amounts of fat from industrial ice cream waste. This waste, which accounts for nearly 5% of raw materials used in production, represents millions of dollars in lost product annually. The recovery process requires only simple separation, such as centrifugation, combined with alkaline treatment.

The method offers a cost-effective way to repurpose waste, potentially generating new products like animal feed, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics from the recovered fat. Yi Zhang noted that Penn State has close ties to the food industry and nearly every major ice cream company globally.