Special Issue "Sustainable Food Production: Challenges, Opportunities and Advancements"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Food".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Antun Jozinović
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: valorization of food industry by-products; development and improvement of food production and food products; food extrusion; starch modification; chocolate

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The food industry is one of the most important branches of national economies in the European Union as well as in the world in general, and it plays a central role in the processing of agricultural raw materials and in the food supply. While in the past it was a struggle for people to find their daily meals, and only local and seasonal products were consumed, nowadays, people in the Western world are surrounded by different types, qualities, and prices of food products. Furthermore, the situation has changed drastically, especially in the 20th century, as a result of civilization, industrialization, technological innovations, mechanization, and economic growth, as well as an increasing global population. Until the end of the 20th century, the prevalent policy was mainly to increase food production without improving the efficiency of the food systems. This fact caused an increase in food loss and food waste, such that the amount of lost or wasted food is now 1.3 billion tonnes globally each year. This situation has triggered a series of environmental challenges that may threaten human survival. Climate change, loss of biodiversity, accumulation of waste, resource depletion (water, fossil fuels, etc.), growing disease pandemics, and the modification of natural ecosystems are some of the results of human activities. The agri-food industry is one of the world’s largest industries and is responsible for 25% of the total emissions of greenhouse gases. Therefore, improving food production systems is one of the major actions that needs to be done urgently to reduce the global impacts on the environment. Recently, three main innovation directions for future food systems were highlighted: 1) sustainability and higher efficiency—production at the lowest possible cost; 2) innovation opportunity, which refers to new scientific and technical approaches in food processing and the introduction of novel foods; and 3) the development of functional foods focused on post-consumption health and well-being.

This Special Issue, titled “Sustainable Food Production: Challenges, Opportunities, and Advancements”, focuses on reviews and original research articles regarding all aspects of sustainable food production. Sustainable techniques and processes, sustainable packaging, life cycles of products, food waste/by-product valorization, the reduction of waste, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, sustainability, and higher efficiency are all examples of topics that may be included in this Special Issue. However, papers on other aspects of sustainable food production are also welcome.

Dr. Antun Jozinović
Guest Editor

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 papers will be 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. Sustainability 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 1900 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

  • sustainable processes
  • food waste/by-product valorization
  • development of functional foods
  • sustainable energy solutions
  • sustainability and higher efficiency

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
The Influence of Extruded Sugar Beet Pulp on Cookies’ Nutritional, Physical and Sensory Characteristics
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5317; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095317 - 10 May 2021
Viewed by 607
Abstract
Sugar beet pulp (SBP) is a by-product of the sugar industry in which the dietary fiber content ranges from 73% to 80%. Compared to cereal fibers mainly used in biscuit production, sugar beet fibers are gluten free and have a perfect ratio of [...] Read more.
Sugar beet pulp (SBP) is a by-product of the sugar industry in which the dietary fiber content ranges from 73% to 80%. Compared to cereal fibers mainly used in biscuit production, sugar beet fibers are gluten free and have a perfect ratio of 2/3 insoluble fiber. In this work, sugar beet pulp was extruded with corn grits (ratios of corn grits to sugar beet pulp in extrudates were 85:15, 70:30, and 55:45), and the obtained sugar beet pulp extrudates (SBPEs) were used for improving the nutritional quality of cookies. The wheat flour in cookies was replaced with SBPEs in the amount of 5, 10, and 15%. The influence of three factors (the percentage of sugar beet pulp in the SBPEs, the size of the SBPE particles, and the percentage of wheat flour substituted with SBPEs) and their interactions on the nutritional quality of cookies, as well as their physical and sensory characteristics are examined using the Box–Behnken experimental design. The addition of extruded sugar beet pulp (SBPEs) significantly increased the amount of total dietary fiber and mineral matter of cookies. On the whole, the addition of SBPEs increased cookie hardness, but the hardness decreased with an increase in extrudate particle size. Sensory characteristics (except for the taste) were the most influenced by extrudate particle size. Full article
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Article
High Voltage Electric Discharge for Recovery of Chlorogenic Acid from Tobacco Waste
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4481; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084481 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 458
Abstract
Three fractions of tobacco waste (scrap, dust and midrib) were subjected to a high voltage electric discharge (HVED) assisted extraction procedure under different experimental conditions: solvent:solid ratio (300, 500, 700 mL/g), frequency (40, 70, 100 Hz) and treatment time (15, 30, 45 min), [...] Read more.
Three fractions of tobacco waste (scrap, dust and midrib) were subjected to a high voltage electric discharge (HVED) assisted extraction procedure under different experimental conditions: solvent:solid ratio (300, 500, 700 mL/g), frequency (40, 70, 100 Hz) and treatment time (15, 30, 45 min), in order to study the influence of these conditions on the content of chlorogenic acid. The content of chlorogenic acid ranged from 1.54 to 3.66 mg/100 g for scrap, from 1.90 to 2.97 mg/100 g for dust, and from 2.30 to 3.38 mg/100 g for midrib extract, showing a strong dependence on the applied process parameters. The temperature change and the change in pH and electrical conductivity of the extracts after high voltage discharge treatment were also observed. The studied process parameters showed a statistically significant effect on the chemical and physical properties of the extracts from tobacco waste as well as on the content of chlorogenic acid, indicating the potential of HVED assisted processes in the separation of chlorogenic acid from tobacco industry waste. Multiple regression analysis was used to fit the results for the chlorogenic acid to a second order polynomial equation and the optimum conditions were determined. Full article
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Article
Physical Properties of Chocolates Enriched with Untreated Cocoa Bean Shells and Cocoa Bean Shells Treated with High-Voltage Electrical Discharge
Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2620; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052620 - 01 Mar 2021
Viewed by 684
Abstract
Recently, the enrichment of chocolate has become a very interesting topic, along with the management of food industry by-products, such as cocoa shells. Cocoa shells could be a great raw material for the cocoa industry, both for economical reasons (maximized utilization of cocoa [...] Read more.
Recently, the enrichment of chocolate has become a very interesting topic, along with the management of food industry by-products, such as cocoa shells. Cocoa shells could be a great raw material for the cocoa industry, both for economical reasons (maximized utilization of cocoa beans) and for their functional properties (increased fiber content). In this research, we used untreated and high-voltage electrical discharge (HVED)-treated cocoa shells in the production of chocolate. Different proportions of cocoa mass were replaced with cocoa shells to produce dark and milk chocolates in a ball mill. Additionally, dark chocolate with 15% and milk chocolate with 5% of shells were chosen for further research and to study the alteration of the composition. The rheology, particle size distribution, hardness, and color were determined for all the prepared samples. Treated cocoa shells provided chocolates with inferior physical properties compared to chocolates with untreated shells. Therefore, untreated cocoa shells were selected for further analysis. The addition of both treated and untreated cocoa shells resulted in softening and darkening of samples, which could have a positive effect for consumers. On the other hand, the particle size distribution and rheology were negatively affected. Further research is needed to find a solution for these problems. Full article
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