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Sustainability
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Value-Added Products from Food Supply Chain Waste Streams
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Value-Added Products from Food Supply Chain Waste Streams

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 12456

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Thomas A. Trabold

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Golisano Institute for Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology, 111 Lomb Memorial Drive 81-2169, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
Interests: sustainable food production; food waste-to-energy conversion; sustainable energy systems; fuel cells
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Producing and distributing food is an enormous global enterprise, requiring large inputs of raw materials, energy, water and labor. Achieving sustainability across the global food supply chain requires that resource use efficiency is improved to the greatest possible extent, while also minimizing waste. Because some food waste or loss is inevitable, there is a need to develop scalable methods for converting these materials into value-added products that not only minimize net environmental impact, but also have the potential for generating secondary revenue for the food manufacturer. This Special Issue seeks papers addressing opportunities for creating value-added products from waste across the farm-to-fork spectrum; from agriculture through all downstream phases of food processing, distribution and consumption. Topics of interest include upcycling of waste through re-use in the manufacturing process, conversion to other food-related products such as nutraceuticals, and conversion to novel non-food items. There is also specific interest in research involving value-added products generated from non-edible food supply chain resources, such as packaging and animal manure.  Waste-to-energy processes are also within scope, provided that non-energy co-products are considered as part of the research.

Prof. Dr. Thomas A. Trabold
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1089 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Dehydration as a Commercial-Scale Food Waste Valorization Strategy
by Jon T. Schroeder, Ava L. Labuzetta and Thomas A. Trabold
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5959; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155959 - 24 Jul 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4183
Abstract
Using a commercially available dehydration unit, this study aimed to valorize various food waste streams from different sources in the Rochester, New York area. Dehydration of the food waste collected for the study helped reduce the weight of the feedstock by 70–90%, as [...] Read more.
Using a commercially available dehydration unit, this study aimed to valorize various food waste streams from different sources in the Rochester, New York area. Dehydration of the food waste collected for the study helped reduce the weight of the feedstock by 70–90%, as the incoming waste streams were relatively wet. The output was materially characterized against end uses such as cattle feed, fish feed, and compost. The results demonstrated that, other than fertilizer, the remaining five end uses (compost, fish feed, cattle feed, pyrolysis, and pelletized fuel) were potentially compatible with varying waste feedstocks based on the parameters analyzed. Fish feed in particular was found to be the most compatible end use, as a number of attributes, including protein, fell within the optimal range of values. Pelletized fuel was also determined to be a viable application, as six out of eight sources of dehydrated food waste had higher heating values above the minimum U.S. standard level of 18.61 MJ/kg. Ultimately, this analysis showed that the composition of the food waste needs to be matched to an end-use application and sale of the product for dehydration to be a worthwhile valorization strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Value-Added Products from Food Supply Chain Waste Streams)
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22 pages, 2578 KiB  
Article
Changes in Selected Food Quality Components after Exceeding the Date of Minimum Durability—Contribution to Food Waste Reduction
by Monika Trząskowska, Anna Łepecka, Katarzyna Neffe-Skocińska, Katarzyna Marciniak-Lukasiak, Dorota Zielińska, Aleksandra Szydłowska, Beata Bilska, Marzena Tomaszewska and Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska
Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3187; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083187 - 15 Apr 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3005
Abstract
Reducing food waste throughout the agri-food chain, as well as sustainable food choices by consumers, can contribute to more efficient resource management. In addition, food insecurity (FI), a socio-economic inability to obtain appropriate quality food in sufficient amounts, still exists. To provide scientific [...] Read more.
Reducing food waste throughout the agri-food chain, as well as sustainable food choices by consumers, can contribute to more efficient resource management. In addition, food insecurity (FI), a socio-economic inability to obtain appropriate quality food in sufficient amounts, still exists. To provide scientific data related to FI, i.e., by reducing food waste, the aim of this pioneering study was to evaluate selected food quality components of food at the end of the date of minimum durability and during the following 6 months of storage. Food safety and sensory attractiveness of the products were taken into consideration. Food safety measurements included microbiological quality, water activity and pH analysis. Sensory attractiveness was evaluated by the quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and instrumental analysis. The evaluated foodstuffs were characterised by good sensory quality and safety on the last day of minimum durability. This condition was maintained for up to 3 months of storage. However, after 6 months, significant sensory changes were found, which disqualified the products. The obtained results provide the basis for establishing guidelines that will facilitate the organisation of traders and food banks as well as consumers to make a decision not to throw food but eat or transfer it for social purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Value-Added Products from Food Supply Chain Waste Streams)
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Review

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25 pages, 532 KiB  
Review
Why do We Know So Much and Yet So Little? A Scoping Review of Willingness to Pay for Human Excreta Derived Material in Agriculture
by Simon Gwara, Edilegnaw Wale, Alfred Odindo and Chris Buckley
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6490; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166490 - 12 Aug 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4452
Abstract
Challenges associated with rapid population growth, urbanization, and nutrient mining have seen increased global research and development towards ‘waste to wealth’ initiatives, circular economy models, and cradle-to-cradle waste management principles. Closing the nutrient loop through safe recovery and valorization of human excreta for [...] Read more.
Challenges associated with rapid population growth, urbanization, and nutrient mining have seen increased global research and development towards ‘waste to wealth’ initiatives, circular economy models, and cradle-to-cradle waste management principles. Closing the nutrient loop through safe recovery and valorization of human excreta for agricultural use may provide a sustainable method of waste management and sanitation. Understanding the market demand is essential for developing viable waste management and sanitation provision business models. The pathways and processes for the safe recovery of nutrients from human excreta are well-documented. However, only anecdotal evidence is available on the willingness to pay for human excreta-derived material in agriculture. This review closes this gap by identifying and synthesizing published evidence on farmers’ willingness to pay for human excreta-derived material for agricultural use. The Scopus and Web of Science search engines were used to search for the literature. The search results were screened, and the data were extracted, charted, and synthesized using the DistillerSR web-based application. The findings show that understanding willingness to pay for human excreta-derived material is still a nascent and emerging research area. Gender, education, and experience are common factors that influence the farmers’ willingness to pay. The findings show that pelletization, fortification, labeling, packaging, and certification are essential attributes in product development. The wide-scale commercialization can be achieved through incorporation of context-specific socioeconomic, religious and cultural influences on the estimation of willingness to pay. Promoting flexible legislation procedures, harmonization of regional legislations, and creating incentives for sustainable waste recovery and reuse may also promote the commercialization of circular nutrient economy initiatives. More empirical studies are required to validate willingness to pay estimates, especially using the best practice for conducting choice experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Value-Added Products from Food Supply Chain Waste Streams)
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