Food-Derived Ingredients from Waste and By-Product Streams
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Security and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 322
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food chemistry; gas chromatography; liquid chromatography; mass spectrometry; polyphenols; volatile compounds; wine chemistry; extraction; fermentation; prebiotic compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Global food systems generate vast quantities of food processing wastes and by-products that are often underutilized or discarded, contributing substantially to environmental burdens and resource inefficiencies. Transforming this challenge into an opportunity requires innovative scientific strategies that not only recover valuable ingredients but also redesign how food resources are valorized within integrated and circular food systems. The concept of food ingredient recovery from food wastes and by-products sits at the intersection of circular bioeconomy, sustainable food production, and functional food innovation, with increasing emphasis on systemic, supply chain-wide approaches to resource optimization, objectives that underpin this Special Issue.
This Special Issue aims to integrate cutting-edge research that explores the full potential of food wastes and by-products as sources of bioactive molecules, high-value nutrients, and functional ingredients. Contributions are encouraged that span from fundamental discovery to applied technologies, including but not limited to green extraction and separation methods, biorefinery and valorization frameworks, molecular and functional characterization of recovered compounds, and their integration into novel food formulations or health-promoting applications. Emphasis is placed on sustainable methodologies that minimize environmental impact while maximizing resource efficiency and product value, while also promoting scalable and system-oriented solutions that connect primary production, processing, and end-use applications.
Importantly, this Special Issue seeks work that goes beyond conventional extraction by promoting innovative approaches such as biotechnological processing, fermentation-based valorization, integrated biorefinery chains, digital and smart technologies for waste stream management, integrated circular supply chain models, and cross-sector applications that link food science, nutrition, and environmental sustainability. Studies addressing techno-economic assessments, life cycle analysis, policy implications, and consumer acceptance of by-product-derived ingredients are also welcomed, as they broaden our understanding of barriers and opportunities in sustainable food systems. Moreover, research that demonstrates how recovered ingredients can be embedded into resilient and circular food value chains is particularly encouraged. Such multidisciplinary insights will help drive transformative research and guide future industrial practices.
By assembling original research articles and comprehensive reviews, this Special Issue aims to catalyze scientific and industrial progress toward redefining food waste as a resource of value, fostering the transition from linear processing models to regenerative and circular food systems and supporting healthier, more sustainable, and resource-efficient food systems worldwide.
Dr. Matteo Bordiga
Guest Editor
Dr. Yassine Jaouhari
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- food by-products
- green extraction
- bioactive compounds
- functional ingredients
- life cycle assessment
- sustainable processing
- circular economy systems
- analytical characterization
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