Apple mush: The latest straw replacement material

In Germany, a Langenbernsdorf-based startup is producing straws made from apple pomace, a solid mush left over from the apple juice production process.

Wisefood’s straws, dubbed Eatapple, have the potential to replace plastic straws subject to increasing legislation globally.

The edible straws nonetheless have a short shelf-life in beverages. “In alcohol, our straw keeps its shape for 45 minutes, in juice, for only 20,” Wisefood’s co-founder Konstantin Neumann tells Handelsblatt. The company is using money from a 2017 crowdfunding campaign to improve that useful life to several hours. One hundred Eatapple straws sell for $50. The European Union estimates that more than 36 billion straws are thrown out each year.