Food Wastes: Feedstock for Value-Added Products: 6th Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Food waste (FW) is a global problem that has received enhanced public and political attention in recent years. This problem will only become more significant in the coming years, especially considering the increased food demand caused by the growing global population. Food is a precious commodity, and its production can be resource-intensive. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food loss (FL) is defined as “the decrease in quantity or quality of food”. Food waste is part of food loss and refers to the discarding or alternative (non-food) use of food that is safe and nutritious for human consumption along the entire food supply chain, from primary production to end-household consumer level. The European Project FUSIONS defines FW as “any food, and inedible parts of food, removed from (lost to or diverted from) the food supply chain to be recovered or disposed of (including composted, crops plowed in/not harvested, anaerobic digestion, bio-energy production, co-generation, incineration, disposal to sewer, landfill or discarded to sea)”. According to the FAO, nearly 1.3 billion tons of food products are lost along the food supply chain each year, and in the next 25 years, the volume of food waste created is projected to increase exponentially.

At present, most food wastes are recycled, mainly as animal feed and compost. The remaining quantities are incinerated and disposed of in landfills, leading to the emission of methane (CH₄), which is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a greenhouse gas and contributes significantly to climate change. The social impacts of FL and FW may be associated with ethical and moral dimensions within the general concept of global food security. Economic impacts are associated with the costs related to food wastage and their effects on farmers and consumer incomes.

The EU waste framework directive 2008/98/EC defines the EU waste management hierarchy as follows: (a) prevention, (b) preparing for reuse, (c) recycling, (d) other recovery (e.g., energy recovery), and (e) disposal. Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency defines the following hierarchy in relation to FW management: (a) source reduction; (b) feeding hungry people; (c) feeding animals; (d) industrial uses; and (e) composting, incineration, or landfilling.

Preventing the overproduction and oversupply of food is the first stage in reducing the generation of FW generation. FW is rich in a range of organic components, including carbohydrates, proteins, oils and fats, and organic acids. In addition, FW can be converted into a variety of bio-commodity chemicals and bioenergy by employing bioprocesses. The implementation of biorefinery could enable the successful valorization of FW. By producing a plethora of bio-based products, FW biorefinery can complement fossil-based refinery to a certain extent and address aspects of the bioeconomy, namely climate, resource security, and ecosystem services.

In continuation, this Special Issue welcomes the submission of both recent innovative research and review papers on food waste valorization for the production of value-added products.

Dr. Diomi Mamma
Guest Editor

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