Special Issue "Sustainable Food Systems and Circular Bioeconomy"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Amélia Martins Delgado
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, MED-University of Algarve, Universidade do Algarve Edf 8, Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Interests: food security; Mediterranean diet; agrobiodiversity; sustainable food processing; biotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will publish contributions about advancements in the sustainability of food systems and the circular bioeconomy and related key topics of high impact. The 20th century saw great achievements in food safety and security, although at the cost of the erosion of natural resources and the dissemination of unhealthy diets, while the 21st century saw an increasing awareness of the threats (such as climate change) and challenges (such as fighting obesity in parallel with malnutrition). In addition, the Covid-19 sanitary crisis exacerbated inequalities with risks of growing food insecurity, antimicrobial resistance, gaps in food safety, and disruption of supply chains. Moreover, there is an urgency in restoring soils and agrobiodiversity, in order to deliver nutritious and safe foods to human populations across the globe, while tackling climate change. As the food system encompasses multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), such threats and challenges need to be approached in a transversal way. In this respect, the Mediterranean diet, which goes beyond the food pattern that inspired newly developed diets (nordic, flexitarian), also encompasses other inspirational dimensions of sustainability, as nature-respectful landscapes, ways of optimizing water management, and cultural and social values that influence behaviors. In improving processes and changing attitudes, the environmental impact of foods must be assessed by adequate and widely adopted metrics that can be clearly communicated and aligned with consumer preferences. This Special Issue will comprise selected papers that cover topics related, but not limited to, the following keywords:

Sustainability metrics; valuing agrobiodiversity; sustainable diets; sustainable food processing; secondary raw materials; food storage and supply chains; food packaging; consumer behavior; economic aspects of circular bioeconomy.

Dr. Amélia Martins Delgado
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

  • Sustainability metrics
  • valuing agrobiodiversity
  • sustainable diets
  • sustainable food processing
  • secondary raw materials
  • food storage and supply chains
  • food packaging
  • consumer behavior
  • economic aspects of circular bioeconomy

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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Article
Sustainability Opportunities for Mediterranean Food Products through New Formulations Based on Carob Flour (Ceratonia siliqua L.)
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 8026; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13148026 - 19 Jul 2021
Viewed by 470
Abstract
Carob flour is increasingly popular in innovative functional foods. Its main producers are Mediterranean countries, facing health and nutrition challenges, and difficulties in tackling climate change. This study aims at formulating innovative sustainable bakery products of high nutritional value while pleasing the consumer [...] Read more.
Carob flour is increasingly popular in innovative functional foods. Its main producers are Mediterranean countries, facing health and nutrition challenges, and difficulties in tackling climate change. This study aims at formulating innovative sustainable bakery products of high nutritional value while pleasing the consumer and addressing regional challenges. Hence, carob flour was obtained by grinding sun-dried carob pods, thus reducing the environmental impact, and preserving carob’s high nutraceutical value. Different bread formulations resulted from the blend of wheat flour with carob pulp (5, 10, 20, and 30%) and/or seed powder (5 and 10%), with no added fats, additives, or processing aids. New products were evaluated for their textural, chromatic, nutritional, aromatic, and hedonic properties. Carob is rich in aroma, antioxidants, and prebiotic fibers, and does not contain gluten, so when combined with wheat, the proportion of gluten in bread is reduced. Carob is also rich in minerals (4.16% and 2.00% ash, respectively in seed and pulp), and breadmaking seems to generate lesser furane derivatives than in white bread. In short, carob is typically Mediterranean and is a valuable local resource in the formulation of sustainable foods with high nutritional value, low carbon footprint, safe, healthy, tasty, and affordable, all at once. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Systems and Circular Bioeconomy)
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Article
Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework
Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2869; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052869 - 06 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 840
Abstract
This work intended to explore some motivations that influence people’s eating habits towards sustainability. This was an observational, cross-sectional study, carried out by questionnaire survey on a non-probabilistic sample of 10,067 participants from 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, [...] Read more.
This work intended to explore some motivations that influence people’s eating habits towards sustainability. This was an observational, cross-sectional study, carried out by questionnaire survey on a non-probabilistic sample of 10,067 participants from 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and United States). Results indicated that people prefer fresh local foods from the season, being important because it allows transportation and storage to be reduced, which in many cases implies refrigeration systems and consequent energy expenditure. Although people avoid food waste at home, the awareness for the waste at restaurants still needs to be improved. Consumers seem to prefer foods that have been produced and packed in sustainable ways but still give importance to the package—understandable for food products. The results also indicated significant differences in the food choice motivations between groups for all sociodemographic variables tested (age, sex, marital status, education, professional area, living environment and country), but the association was high only for variable country. Additionally, a tree classification analysis allowed to identify the relative importance of the influential variables on the sustainable food choices, with country being the most important, followed by age and sex. Additionally, discriminant function analysis allowed establishing a model for the relation between country and six variables accounting for preservation of biodiversity, respect for life, save natural resources, save energy, reduce industrial pollution and minimal packaging. Although with some limitations, this study brings valuable insight into some aspects linked with sustainable food choices on a number of countries and how people shape their food choices according to some sustainability issues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Systems and Circular Bioeconomy)
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Perspective
Sustainable Management of Secondary Raw Materials from the Marine Food-Chain: A Case-Study Perspective
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8997; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218997 - 29 Oct 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 686
Abstract
The feasibility of exploiting secondary raw materials from marine food-chains as a source of molecules of nutritional interest, to create high-value food products and to meet nutritional challenges, is described in this report. A reduction in food waste is urgent as many sectors [...] Read more.
The feasibility of exploiting secondary raw materials from marine food-chains as a source of molecules of nutritional interest, to create high-value food products and to meet nutritional challenges, is described in this report. A reduction in food waste is urgent as many sectors of the food industry damage the environment by depleting resources and by generating waste that must be treated. The project herein described, deals with the recovery of natural molecules, omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA) and of α-tocopherol, from fish processing by-products. This would promote the sustainable development of new food products for human nutrition, as well as nutraceuticals. The growing awareness of increasing omega-3 fatty acids intake, has focused attention on the importance of fish as a natural source of these molecules in the diet. Therefore, a study on the concentration of these bioactive compounds in such matrices, as well as new green methodologies for their recovery, are necessary. This would represent an example of a circular economy process applied to the seafood value chain. Fish processing by-products, so far considered as waste, can hopefully be reutilized as active ingredients into food products of high added-value, thus maximizing the sustainability of fish production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Systems and Circular Bioeconomy)
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