Valorization of Food Waste to Produce Value-Added Products Based on Its Bioactive Compounds

Abstract

The rapid growth of the global population and changes in lifestyle have led to a significant increase in food waste from various industrial, agricultural, and household sources. Nearly one-third of the food produced annually is wasted, resulting in severe resource depletion. Food waste contains rich organic matter, which, if not managed properly, can pose a serious threat to the environment and human health, making the proper disposal of food waste an urgent global issue. However, various types of food waste, such as waste from fruit, vegetables, grains, and other food production and processing, contain important bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, dietary fiber, proteins, lipids, vitamins, organic acids, and minerals, some of which are found in greater quantities in the discarded parts than in the parts accepted by the market. These bioactive compounds offer the potential to convert food waste into value-added products, and fields including nutritional foods, bioplastics, bioenergy, biosurfactants, biofertilizers, and single cell proteins have welcomed food waste as a novel source. This review reveals the latest insights into the various sources of food waste and the potential of utilizing bioactive compounds to convert it into value-added products, thus enhancing people’s confidence in better utilizing and managing food waste.

Valorizing Fruit and Vegetable Waste: The Untapped Potential for Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa—A Systematic Review

“…As the global amount of FW increases, finding alternative valuable uses for waste material can maximize resources and contribute to alternative revenue streams, particularly in low-income economies [30,49]. FW valorization includes converting or repurposing waste materials into value-added products such as biofuel, livestock feed, bio-fertilizers, and other value-added products [56][57][58][59]. These products are generated through several conversion processes, including hydrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), fermentation, and anaerobic digestion (AD).…”

From kitchen scraps to delicacies to food waste

“…109 An example for leftover rice recycling and subsequent cracker production with resistant starch formation and thus nutritional improvement generation via improvement of glycemic index resulted in no differences in sensory properties between non-heated controls and cracker samples from leftover rice prepared with heat and different acids. 110 The importance of fermentation processes for the generation of valuable compounds such as nutraceuticals, food additives, biosurfactants, single cell proteins and bioplastics has also been demonstrated 109,111,112 as well as the bioconversion of food waste into new food sources such as mushrooms, microalgae and insects. 113 In addition, “dark fermentation” based on chemoautrophy 114 has been suggested for the production of microbial proteins.…”

Bioactive Compounds from Fruit and Vegetable Waste: Extraction and Possible Utilization

“…This area provides a unique opportunity to address both food loss reduction and the implementation of more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices [ 7 ]. Bioactive compounds derived from these waste materials can contribute to human nutrition and health and facilitate the creation of value-added products, thus promoting circular economy principles [ 8 ].…”