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Foods
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Circular Economy Approach to Produce Sustainable and Healthy Foods
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Circular Economy Approach to Produce Sustainable and Healthy Foods

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2025 | Viewed by 4643

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Evandro Leite de Souza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
Interests: gut microbiota; probiotics; prebiotics; synbiotics; phenolic compounds; nutraceuticals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paula C. Castilho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CQM—Centro de Química da Madeira, Universidade da Madeira, Campus da Penteada, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal
Interests: chemical composition of aromatic, medicinal and food plants and organic chemistry hemi synthesis of bioactive compounds using natural products as raw materials and in the assessment of the biological activity of new compounds

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Circular Economy is key to designing recovery plans based on the rational exploitation of natural resources since the growing population, increased food demand, inefficient food distribution and resource use, environmental impacts, and high rates of food waste are driving factors for the transition towards more sustainable practices at all stages of the food systems. Circular Economy focuses on implementing production management systems that convert waste into sustainable resources. Some strategies based on the Circular Economy are being implemented worldwide (e.g., The European Green Deal, Chinese Ecological Civilization, and Green New Deal-South Korea) in response to the need for post-pandemic economic growth, aiming at the sustainable development of productive processes linked to the agro-food sector. The loop of nutrients and bioactive compounds (e.g., dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, pigments, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and essential oils) offers innovative and sustainable solutions for recovering various value-added components from food processing by-products with reported health-related properties and application opportunities in several industry sectors. This Special Issue is part of the actions of the Project “Ibero-American Innovation Network for the Sustainability of the Plant Food Value Chain” – Ibero Circular (CYTED Network 323RT0142). Original and review papers covering all aspects of the Circular Economy, such as food production and reuse, waste management, by-product utilization and valorization, and nutrient and bioactive compounds recycling, linked to the agro-food sector, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Evandro Leite de Souza
Dr. Paula C. Castilho
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

  • circular economy
  • sustainability
  • food systems
  • by-products
  • valorization
  • bioactive compounds
  • health-related properties
  • novel food products

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3715 KiB  
Article
Scenario Analysis of Food Phosphorus Footprint in Kisumu, a Lakeside East African City in Lake Victoria (Kenya)
by Zheng Guo, Sophia Shuang Chen, Giri Raj Kattel, Wenyi Qiao, Linglong Lu, Rong Li and Anna Charles Mkumbo
Foods 2024, 13(14), 2225; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13142225 - 16 Jul 2024
Viewed by 882
Abstract
Increased food production and consumption patterns have resulted in higher urban food phosphorus footprints, leading to a series of resource and environmental problems worldwide. We quantified the food phosphorus footprint of the African city of Kisumu using substance flow analysis. Our aim was [...] Read more.
Increased food production and consumption patterns have resulted in higher urban food phosphorus footprints, leading to a series of resource and environmental problems worldwide. We quantified the food phosphorus footprint of the African city of Kisumu using substance flow analysis. Our aim was to develop Kisumu’s sustainable phosphorus management framework so that the city would reduce phosphorus losses into the food system. Our results show that in the year 2023, the import and export of food phosphorus in the Kisumu food system was 2730.26 ± 2.7% t P yr−1 and 3297.05 ± 2.4% t P yr−1, respectively. There was −566.79 ± −18% t P yr−1 food phosphorus deficit in the Kisumu food system. Crop planting subsystem runoff/leaching/erosion loss, household consumption subsystem waste loss, and pit latrine subsystem blackwater loss are the major pathways of phosphorus losses into the environment and the main contributors to the food phosphorus footprint in the city. The 2030 scenario analysis shows that implementing a comprehensive scenario scheme throughout the entire lifecycle process from phosphorus input to waste disposal is the best choice for reducing phosphorus losses and suppressing the growth of food phosphorus footprint in the future. Our study shows that the food phosphorus footprint in the Kisumu food system was 0.67 kg P cap−1yr−1 in 2023, which is still at a low level but may enter a continuous upward trend with the improvement of socio-economic development of the city. In our framework, we have proposed a few essential measures that include urine separation, installation of septic tank, adjustment of dietary structure, flexible layout of sanitary disposal facilities, and separation of organic waste streams to reduce food phosphorus footprints in Kisumu. Given the similarity of cities along the shores of Lake Victoria, our calculation methods and management strategies can be applied to other cities in the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Approach to Produce Sustainable and Healthy Foods)
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18 pages, 1183 KiB  
Article
Enriching Eggs with Bioactive Compounds through the Inclusion of Grape Pomace in Laying Hens Diet: Effect on Internal and External Egg Quality Parameters
by Beatriz Herranz, Carlos Romero, Inés Sánchez-Román, Mónica López-Torres, Agustín Viveros, Ignacio Arija, María Dolores Álvarez, Sonia de Pascual-Teresa and Susana Chamorro
Foods 2024, 13(10), 1553; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101553 - 16 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1766
Abstract
(1) Background: Grapes and their associated by-products (such as grape pomace, GP) stand out for their polyphenol content, which makes them a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity. The aim of this research was to determine if the inclusion of 50 g/kg [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Grapes and their associated by-products (such as grape pomace, GP) stand out for their polyphenol content, which makes them a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity. The aim of this research was to determine if the inclusion of 50 g/kg of GP in the diet of hens could enrich eggs with antioxidants and to study its effect on internal and external egg quality parameters. (2) Methods: A trial was conducted with two genetic lines of hens, which were fed either a control diet or a diet containing 50 g/kg of GP. Performance, internal and external egg quality, and egg yolk content of vitamins E and A and gallic acid were determined. (3) Results: In eggs laid by hens fed a GP diet, Haugh units and yolk color scores were enhanced, and eggshells became thinner, but without affecting the breaking strength. No dietary effect was observed on the vitamin contents of the yolk. A higher gallic acid content was observed in the yolks of eggs laid by hens fed the GP diet, suggesting that some dietary phenolic compounds could be transferred to the eggs. Hen genetics influenced egg weight, albumen Haugh units, shell thickness, and α- and γ-tocopherol concentration in yolks. (4) Conclusions: Dietary inclusion of GP improved the internal quality of eggs, enriching yolks with a phenolic compound but reducing shell thickness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Approach to Produce Sustainable and Healthy Foods)
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24 pages, 1612 KiB  
Article
Fermenting Acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) and Guava (Psidium guayaba L.) Fruit Processing Co-Products with Probiotic Lactobacilli to Produce Novel Potentially Synbiotic Circular Ingredients
by Caroliny M. Araújo, Thatyane Mariano R. de Albuquerque, Karoliny B. Sampaio, Jordana N. de Oliveira, Jaielison Yandro P. da Silva, Marcos dos S. Lima, Yuri M. do Nascimento, Evandro F. da Silva, Marcelo S. da Silva, Josean F. Tavares, Evandro L. de Souza and Maria Elieidy G. de Oliveira
Foods 2024, 13(9), 1375; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13091375 - 29 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1328
Abstract
This study evaluated the effects of acerola and guava fruit processing co-products fermented with probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05 and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L-10 on the abundance of different intestinal bacterial groups and microbial metabolic activity during 48 h of in vitro fecal fermentation. Digested [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the effects of acerola and guava fruit processing co-products fermented with probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05 and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L-10 on the abundance of different intestinal bacterial groups and microbial metabolic activity during 48 h of in vitro fecal fermentation. Digested fermented fruit co-products increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacterial groups while overall decreasing or maintaining the relative abundance of non-beneficial bacterial groups, suggesting selective stimulatory effects on beneficial bacterial intestinal populations. The fermented co-products stimulated microbial metabolic activity due to decreased pH, sugar consumption, short-chain fatty acid production, phenolic compound and metabolic profile alteration, and high antioxidant capacity during fecal fermentation. Acerola and guava co-products have high nutritional value and bioactive compounds whose fermentation with probiotics improves their potential functionalities. The results show that fermented fruit co-products could induce beneficial changes in the relative abundance of several bacterial groups as well as in the metabolic activity of the human intestinal microbiota. These results highlight their potential as novel and circular candidates for use as synbiotic ingredients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Approach to Produce Sustainable and Healthy Foods)
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