The current study aims to assess how a novel fungi product made from the filamentous fungus Neurospora intermedia, cultivated on bread residuals, is perceived using questionnaires. Participants were asked to rate characteristic attributes of a fungi burger patty and state their preference when comparing it to Quorn and hamburger patties. The data were analyzed to assess whether gender or age was statistically associated with preference profiles. Neither age nor gender was associated with the preference profiles regarding the comparison of burger patties. Except for age and bitterness, age and gender were also not associated with the preference profiles regarding the sensory characteristics of the fungi burger patty. Most of the participants liked the characteristics of the fungi burger patty. The results indicate that fungi products from waste can become accepted products when information dissemination targets environmental benefits. Moreover, to be commercially accepted, the chewiness and bitterness of the product should be improved. Other improvements should target the overall taste in order to cater to people who prefer meat-based protein sources.

The aim of this scoping review was to gain an overview of the current state of the literature on the engagement in waste sorting post migration from an occupational perspective, in the light of two aspects sustainability efforts currently face: Increased human migration and environmental degradation. Both the resource recovery and occupational science literature were reviewed and analyzed. However, despite the current lack on studies on how migrants' transition into waste sorting schemes at the household level, this scoping review was able to provide a broad picture of the engagement in daily activities that support sustainability, such as household waste sorting. Given the current initiatives to develop efficient resource recovery from waste, such knowledge contributes to efforts to engage households with different cultures and experiences in waste sorting. The results highlight the importance of future research to better understand how people who are new to waste management schemes experience these, and study the way that engagement in waste sorting shifts and transforms. This is because providing such knowledge can contribute to raising awareness of the environmental impact of waste sorting, and inform policies aimed at sustainable waste management.

Given the increasing efforts at improving waste management in developing countries, this study aimed to analyze factors that influence participation in household waste sorting. It thereby is the first review that extends the published literature on this topic. A meta-analysis was conducted that analyzed twelve influencing factors. A moderate correlation was found for the most strongly influential factors—attitude, moral norm, subjective norm and perceived behavior control—which indicates that people’s perception of waste sorting is most influencing in prompting participation in household waste sorting in developing countries. The results of this meta-analysis indicate that knowledge, situational factors, such as physical conditions, and governmental incentives can influence participation in household waste sorting in developing countries but the relationship between those factors and other factors with high correlations should be studied further. Notably, socio-demographic factors have the weakest influence on the participation in waste sorting in developing countries despite a large body of research on such factors. It can be constructive to take the relationship across the identified factors and the participation in waste sorting into consideration when aiming to implement measures to increase the participation in waste management schemes through waste sorting. The outcome of this study may contribute to recommendations and policy suggestions regarding the promotion of sustainable waste management through household waste sorting in developing countries.

New food sources are explored to provide food security in sustainable ways. The submerged fermentation of edible filamentous fungi is a promising strategy to provide nutritious and affordable food that is expected to have a low environmental impact. The aim of the current study was to assess the novel use of Aspergillus oryzae cultivated in submerged fermentation on oat flour as a source for food products that do not undergo secondary fermentation or significant downstream processing. The fungus was cultivated in a pilot-scale airlift bioreactor, and the biomass concentration and protein content of the biomass were assessed. A tasting with an untrained panel assessed consumer preferences regarding the taste and texture of minimally processed vegetarian and vegan burger patties made from the biomass, and how the patties fared against established meat-alternative-based patties. The cultivation of Aspergillus oryzae resulted in a yield of 6 g/L dry biomass with a protein content of 37% on a dry weight basis. The taste and texture of the minimally processed fungal burger patties were to the liking of some participants. This was also reflected in diverse feedback provided by the participants. The cultivation of the fungus on oat flour and its utilization in developing burger patties shows its promising potential for the production of nutritious food. The applications of the fungus can be further developed by exploring other favorable ways to texture and season this relatively new functional food source to the preferences of consumers.

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Fungal fermented foods are nutritious, environmentally friendly and sustainable protein sources. To develop fungal fermented food with acceptable sensory characteristics, it is important to assess factors that can affect the sensory characteristics of the product. The current study aimed to investigate the correlations between the chemical and microbiological characteristics and sensory characteristics of fungal fermented food. Soybeans were fermented using five local Indonesian strains of the genus Rhizopus sp. and one strain of industrial starter to mimic traditional Indonesian tempe. The chemical (amino acid and ammonia content), microbiological (lactic acid bacteria, proteolytic bacteria and yeast) and sensory characteristics of the fermented products were examined. The results showed that there is a correlation between the chemical properties, particularly glutamic acid and aspartic acid, and the overall liking of different types of tempe. In general, Rhizopus oligosporus-fermented products had better sensory characteristics than those fermented with Rhizopus oryzae and Rhizopus delemar. The sensory characteristics of the fermented products in this work made from isolates are comparable to those made with an industrial starter culture. In addition, taste and texture affect the overall liking of the product. The results of this study contribute to the development of acceptable sensory fungal fermented food and, in particular, the screening of potential starters.

Several theories and case studies have shown that information has little or no direct influence on waste sorting behavior. However, it is often suggested that information plays a vital role by indirectly influencing behavior. This contribution sheds light on how instructive information influences users of a recycling scheme in terms of perception, knowledge and waste sorting behavior. The study was performed as a case study on a student population in a medium-sized city in Sweden. An intervention in the form of modified information that was provided to the users was studied. This information was instructive in nature and adapted to the participants’ needs using the Recycling Behavior Transition procedure, where the users are involved in the development and modification of recycling schemes. New information was designed after investigating how the participants perceived the original information on correct waste sorting, as well as ascertaining their preferred channel for providing the information. Pick analyses and surveys were conducted before and after providing the user-adapted information. The results indicated a trend towards correct participation in the recycling scheme. These results are also discussed in the theoretical context of the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability-Behavior model. The study shows that user-adapted, instructive information can have a significant influence on people’s knowledge of correct waste separation and their overall perception of information.