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Functional Ingredients from Food Waste and By-Products: Processing Technologies, Functional...
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Functional Ingredients from Food Waste and By-Products: Processing Technologies, Functional Characteristics and Value-Added Applications: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 732

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cristina Barrera Puigdollers

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Engineering-FoodUPV, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 València, Spain
Interests: food engineering; food processing; food waste valorization; functional foods development; drying; fermentation; in vitro digestion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lucía Seguí

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Engineering-FoodUPV, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 València, Spain
Interests: food engineering; food processing; food waste valorization; functional foods development; drying; fermentation; in vitro digestion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Volume I of this Special Issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/foods/special_issues/3P2221Q0S8) was a great success and gained the attention and interest of many scholars. We take the opportunity here to thank them for their contributions and support. As the topic continues to gain the attention of scholars, we are looking forward to the launch of Volume II. We hope it will be as successful as Volume I and be of benefit to the field.

To meet current food industry sustainability and resource efficiency needs, food waste and by-product management and valorization have become both a necessity and a challenge. Due to their high nutrient and bioactive compound contents, food waste and by-products hold immense potential to be transformed into valuable functional ingredients, which may have applications in the food industry and related areas. This Special Issue aims to explore traditional and innovative processing technologies that can be applied to obtain functional ingredients from these underutilized resources. We are also keen to advance general knowledge about the nutritional and technological characteristics of these ingredients and explore their wide-ranging applications across various sectors, from food and beverages to agriculture, packaging, and beyond.

By participating in this Special Issue, authors can contribute to shaping the future of sustainable food production while offering solutions to producers. Submit your original articles, reviews, and case studies to be part of this exciting journey.

Sincerely,

Lucía Seguí (lusegil@upvnet.upv.es). Institute of Food Engineering-FoodUPV, Universitat Politècnica de València

Cristina Barrera (mcbarpu@tal.upv.es) Institute of Food Engineering-FoodUPV, Universitat Politècnica de València

Dr. Cristina Barrera Puigdollers
Prof. Dr. Lucía Seguí
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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 waste valorization
  • innovative and traditional processing technologies
  • value-added applications
  • nutritional characterization
  • technological characterization

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 3974 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Quality in Bean Products Through Mixed Fermentation: A Comparative Analysis of Physicochemical, Structural, and Functional Properties of Soybean Products
by Yalin Li, Wenwen Zhang, Yongqi Chen, Liu Liu, Xiaoxia Wu, Ying Luo and Yuhuan Zhang
Foods 2025, 14(11), 1985; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14111985 - 4 Jun 2025
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Abstract
This study investigated the quality evolution of soybean products (soymilk, tofu, dried bean curd) through mixed-strain fermentation with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CICC 6151 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae AS2.400 under optimized conditions (7% inoculum, pH of 5.2, 85 °C/50 min thermal treatment). Physicochemical, structural, and microbial [...] Read more.
This study investigated the quality evolution of soybean products (soymilk, tofu, dried bean curd) through mixed-strain fermentation with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CICC 6151 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae AS2.400 under optimized conditions (7% inoculum, pH of 5.2, 85 °C/50 min thermal treatment). Physicochemical, structural, and microbial dynamics were systematically analyzed. Key results demonstrated that probiotic tofu exhibited superior water-holding capacity (82% WHC vs. 65% in traditional variants) and enhanced protein retention (Δ + 2.4% during storage), linked to microbial-mediated structural stabilization. Mixed fermentation induced substrate competition (S. cerevisiae biomass: OD560 of 1.2 at 10 h vs. L. rhamnosus OD600 of 1.0 at 25 h; ANOVA p < 0.001), driving pH-dependent protein network formation (isoelectric precipitation at pH of 4.8 ± 0.1) and volatile profile divergence (PCA explained 82.2–89.1% of variance). Probiotic variants maintained chromatic stability (ΔE < 15 vs. traditional ΔE > 23) and textural integrity (23% lower deformation under compression), correlated with secondary structure preservation (β-sheet increased by 10% in FTIR analysis). These findings establish synergistic microbial–metabolic regulation as a strategy for developing functional bean products with enhanced nutritional and sensory properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Ingredients from Food Waste and By-Products: Processing Technologies, Functional Characteristics and Value-Added Applications: 2nd Edition)
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21 pages, 2047 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Microwaves and Other Disruptive Pretreatments on Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Growth and the Antioxidant Properties of Broccoli Stalks
by Simone Baldassa, Cristina Barrera, Marta Muñoz-Ibáñez and Lucía Seguí
Foods 2025, 14(10), 1809; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14101809 - 20 May 2025
Viewed by 329
Abstract
Food waste is a global challenge, with broccoli stalks (~58% of the head’s mass) often discarded despite being rich in fiber, fatty acids, organic acids, sugars, phenolic compounds, and glucosinolates. Pretreatments like microwaving are gaining interest for enhancing nutrient availability and microbial activity [...] Read more.
Food waste is a global challenge, with broccoli stalks (~58% of the head’s mass) often discarded despite being rich in fiber, fatty acids, organic acids, sugars, phenolic compounds, and glucosinolates. Pretreatments like microwaving are gaining interest for enhancing nutrient availability and microbial activity by modifying biomass structure and improving fermentation. This study explores microwave pretreatment (2, 4, 6, 9 W/g for 4–7 min) to enhance 24 h fermentation of pasteurized ground broccoli stalks using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Analyses included reducing sugars, total phenolics, microbial growth, Cryo-FESEM, and FTIR. Optimal microbial proliferation and preservation of key compounds were achieved at 4 W/g for 5 min. This condition was then compared to pasteurization, freezing/thawing, and autoclaving over a 96 h fermentation. pH, microbial population, and antioxidant properties were measured at 24 h intervals. Pasteurization, with or without microwaving, resulted in faster acidification and microbial growth. Microwaved samples retained the highest phenolic content, while autoclaved ones exhibited the highest flavonoid levels and antioxidant activity. Fermentation did not enhance antioxidant properties; phenolics and DPPH activity decreased after 24 h, while flavonoids and ABTS remained stable. Overall, pretreatments significantly influenced fermentation outcomes of broccoli stalks; microwaving post-pasteurization favored phenolic preservation and microbial proliferation, whereas autoclaving enhanced flavonoids and antioxidant potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Ingredients from Food Waste and By-Products: Processing Technologies, Functional Characteristics and Value-Added Applications: 2nd Edition)
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