Re-Valorization of Wastes and Food Co-Products
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Food science and technology; food microbiology and safety; food biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue dedicated to the “Re-Valorization of Wastes and Food Co-Products”.
In developed nations, the overproduction of food is a growing concern, contrasting starkly with the global reality of hunger that continues to affect millions. Alongside this imbalance, a significant portion of food production results in by-products and wastes that are often underutilized or discarded, despite their potential value.
These by-products—originating from fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, seafood, and cereals—can be rich sources of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and complex nutraceuticals with health-promoting properties. Rather than being seen as waste, these materials can serve as valuable raw inputs for new food formulations, functional ingredients, bio-based materials, biofuels, and other bioproducts.
The emerging bioeconomy provides a strategic framework to address this opportunity. It emphasizes the sustainable transformation of renewable biological resources into value-added products, fostering circular economic models and reducing environmental impact. This approach aligns with the global goals of reducing food waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting sustainable development.
This Special Issue focuses on papers advancing original research and review papers for the re-valorization of food by-products and zero waste. Aspects such as agri-food by-product composition, their functional and nutritional characteristics, and their use in order to obtain new food products may be developed in this Special Issue.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Extraction and recovery of bioactive compounds from food waste;
- Bioconversion processes and fermentation of food by-products;
- Development of functional foods and ingredients from co-products;
- Waste valorization pathways;
- Chemical modification and functionalization of food by-products;
- Green chemistry approaches for food waste valorization.
We look forward to receiving your contributions
Prof. Dr. Adriana Dabija
Guest Editor
Dr. Ancuța Chetrariu
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 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. Molecules 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 2700 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
- by-products
- valorization
- reutilization
- zero waste
- application of functional ingredients
- circular economy
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