The traditional linear production system in the food industry generates important environmental, social and economic problems. In the last years, the end of the linear production model and the need to change towards a new more sustainable model has been discussed. A circular food economy offers solutions to all these problems and generates opportunities to create a more sustainable and inclusive system. Many food processing by-products are produced in the food industry and most of them are directly discarded, which results in waste of resources and causes potential environmental pollution.
According to the FAO, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted or lost every year worldwide. These losses mainly come from fruits and vegetables, accounting for approximately 50%, highlighting that the food industry plays a role in waste production. However, food processing by-products are rich in different bioactive compounds as polyphenols, carotenoids, polysaccharides (including fiber), unsaturated fats, or proteins.
To avoid the loss of beneficial nutrients and compounds that food and agro-industrial by-products contain, it is interesting to develop alternative strategies that allow its revalorization and use. Different approaches can be carried out in order to reduce food waste. One of the most interesting ways is developing ingredients capable of meeting the needs and nutritional requirements demanded by consumers. Giving a second chance to the by-products generated in the food industry, as a practice of the circular economy, will lead to tangible benefits for the environment and society. These by-products, which would otherwise be disposed of, can be turned into added-value ingredients to be reincorporated back into the food industry. Traditional methods, such as drying, can be a convenient alternative to develop those ingredients. Moreover, novel technologies such as high hydrostatic pressure and ultrasounds, have been recognized to improve the extractability of bioactive compounds. The optimization of those processes holds immense potential in order to develop new functional ingredients that could be used to prepare new enriched or functionalized foods. These new ingredients and foods need to be characterized in terms of techno-functional properties, physicochemical and structural properties, nutritional profile, biocompounds, bioaccesibility, sensory characteristics, consumer response, etc.
This Research Topic aims to publish original research, review articles, and opinions dealing with innovative strategies to produce new functional ingredients and enriched or functionalized foods through the valorization of agro-industrial by-products.
Themes of interest include but are not limited to:
• Novel and traditional technologies and processes to obtain ingredients from agro-industrial by-products.
• Techno-functional properties of ingredients obtained from agro-industrial by-products.
• Physicochemical and structural characterization of ingredients and foods obtained from agro-industrial by-products.
• Development of food systems formulated with agro-industrial by-product ingredients.
• Nutritional profile and bioactive compounds in enriched or functionalized foods formulated with agro-industrial by-products.
• Biocompounds bioaccessibility in enriched or functionalized foods formulated with agro-industrial by-product ingredients.
• Health benefits of consuming foods formulated with agro-industrial by-product ingredients.
• Sensory properties and consumer response to a food formulated with agro-industrial by-products.
• Consumer communication strategies of food sustainability.
The traditional linear production system in the food industry generates important environmental, social and economic problems. In the last years, the end of the linear production model and the need to change towards a new more sustainable model has been discussed. A circular food economy offers solutions to all these problems and generates opportunities to create a more sustainable and inclusive system. Many food processing by-products are produced in the food industry and most of them are directly discarded, which results in waste of resources and causes potential environmental pollution.
According to the FAO, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted or lost every year worldwide. These losses mainly come from fruits and vegetables, accounting for approximately 50%, highlighting that the food industry plays a role in waste production. However, food processing by-products are rich in different bioactive compounds as polyphenols, carotenoids, polysaccharides (including fiber), unsaturated fats, or proteins.
To avoid the loss of beneficial nutrients and compounds that food and agro-industrial by-products contain, it is interesting to develop alternative strategies that allow its revalorization and use. Different approaches can be carried out in order to reduce food waste. One of the most interesting ways is developing ingredients capable of meeting the needs and nutritional requirements demanded by consumers. Giving a second chance to the by-products generated in the food industry, as a practice of the circular economy, will lead to tangible benefits for the environment and society. These by-products, which would otherwise be disposed of, can be turned into added-value ingredients to be reincorporated back into the food industry. Traditional methods, such as drying, can be a convenient alternative to develop those ingredients. Moreover, novel technologies such as high hydrostatic pressure and ultrasounds, have been recognized to improve the extractability of bioactive compounds. The optimization of those processes holds immense potential in order to develop new functional ingredients that could be used to prepare new enriched or functionalized foods. These new ingredients and foods need to be characterized in terms of techno-functional properties, physicochemical and structural properties, nutritional profile, biocompounds, bioaccesibility, sensory characteristics, consumer response, etc.
This Research Topic aims to publish original research, review articles, and opinions dealing with innovative strategies to produce new functional ingredients and enriched or functionalized foods through the valorization of agro-industrial by-products.
Themes of interest include but are not limited to:
• Novel and traditional technologies and processes to obtain ingredients from agro-industrial by-products.
• Techno-functional properties of ingredients obtained from agro-industrial by-products.
• Physicochemical and structural characterization of ingredients and foods obtained from agro-industrial by-products.
• Development of food systems formulated with agro-industrial by-product ingredients.
• Nutritional profile and bioactive compounds in enriched or functionalized foods formulated with agro-industrial by-products.
• Biocompounds bioaccessibility in enriched or functionalized foods formulated with agro-industrial by-product ingredients.
• Health benefits of consuming foods formulated with agro-industrial by-product ingredients.
• Sensory properties and consumer response to a food formulated with agro-industrial by-products.
• Consumer communication strategies of food sustainability.
