Verteerbaar

Verteerbaar is a Dutch adjective derived from the verb verteren, meaning to digest. The word describes substances that can be broken down by the digestive system into simpler compounds that are absorbed by the body. In a biological sense, verteerbaar refers to food or other organic materials that contain nutrients or energy that can be made usable by organisms, especially humans, animals or microbes.

In nutrition science verteerbaar is used to classify foods by their digestibility. Highly verteerbaar foods such as simple sugars or meats have high digestibility scores, while low‑digestibility foods such as cellulose or certain fibers are considered less verteerbaar. The concept is also applied in veterinary science, where the digestibility of feedstuffs determines their suitability for livestock diets. In waste management, “verteerbaar” is often used to describe waste materials that can be processed by anaerobic or aerobic digestion processes, thus producing biogas or nutrient‑rich compost.

The term is not limited to living organisms. In industrial contexts it can describe the bioremediability of pollutants; a compound that can be metabolised by bacteria is said to be verteerbaar. The related term verstorbaar (disruptible) is sometimes contrasted with verteerbaar to indicate substances that resist metabolic breakdown.

While the literal translation into English is digestible, the word carries specific connotations in Dutch health, agriculture, and environmental fields. Understanding verteerbaar helps professionals assess nutritional value, animal feed quality, and the environmental impact of organic waste.