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Advance in Food Waste and Environment Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges...
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Advance in Food Waste and Environment Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 2837

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Saqib Gulzar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Science, University of Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Interests: food process engineering; food waste valorization; novel food processing; biopolymers
Dr. Mariarosaria Lombardi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, University of Foggia, Via R. Cagesse, 1-71121 Foggia, Italy
Interests: environmental sustainability; environmental impact assessment; carbon footprint; renewable energy; bioenergy; social and technological innovation; agrifood supply chains; climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food waste constitutes a significant global problem, with approximately one-third of the food produced for human consumption being lost or wasted every year. This is a substantial economic issue and a major environmental concern. Food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, depletes natural resources, and exacerbates food insecurity. Meanwhile, the world is seeking to improve sustainability in all aspects, including food production and consumption.

Therefore, understanding the current trends, challenges, and management strategies in food waste and environmental sustainability is of paramount importance. The aim of this Special Issue is to explore the latest advancements in food waste and environmental sustainability, focusing specifically on the current trends, challenges, and management strategies. By providing a platform for researchers, policy-makers, and industry practitioners to share their findings, this Special Issue will stimulate debates within the field and contribute to the development of effective solutions for reducing food waste and promoting environmental sustainability.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Trends in food waste and environmental sustainability;
  • Challenges in food waste management;
  • Innovative strategies for food waste reduction and management;
  • Upcycling of food waste: current trends in relation to sustainable development goals;
  • The intersection of food waste and environmental sustainability;
  • Circular economy approaches to food waste management;
  • Policy and regulatory frameworks for promoting sustainable food systems;
  • Food waste management in developing countries;
  • Social and cultural factors influencing food waste;
  • Economic and financial incentives for reducing food waste;
  • Environmental impacts of food waste and their mitigation;
  • Sustainable food production and consumption;
  • Future directions in food waste and environmental sustainability.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Saqib Gulzar
Dr. Mariarosaria Lombardi
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. 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 2400 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

  • food waste valorization
  • upcycling of waste
  • circular economy
  • sustainable food production
  • sustainable development goals

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

0 pages, 3933 KiB  
Article
Obtaining Sustainable Electrical Energy from Pepper Waste
by Rojas-Flores Segundo, De La Cruz-Noriega Magaly, Cabanillas-Chirinos Luis, Nélida Milly Otiniano, Nancy Soto-Deza, Nicole Terrones-Rodriguez and De La Cruz-Cerquin Mayra
Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3448; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083448 - 20 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 824
Abstract
Currently, two significant problems involve the government, population, and environment: the accelerated increase in organic waste and the need to replace conventional energy with environmentally sustainable energy. The sustainable use of organic waste is being intensely investigated to generate energy plants that produce [...] Read more.
Currently, two significant problems involve the government, population, and environment: the accelerated increase in organic waste and the need to replace conventional energy with environmentally sustainable energy. The sustainable use of organic waste is being intensely investigated to generate energy plants that produce alternative sustainable electrical energy beneficial to the population at a low cost. The novelty of this research is given by the use of pepper waste as fuel in the generation of bioelectricity, giving added value to these types of waste, benefiting farmers and companies dedicated to the export and import of these fruits, because they will be able to generate their own electrical energy using their own waste at a lower cost. For this reason, this research uses pepper waste as fuel in single-chamber microbial fuel cells manufactured at a low cost as its primary objective. The maximum values of the electric current (5.118 ± 0.065 mA) and electric potential (1.018 ± 0.101 V) were shown on the fourteenth day, with an optimal operating pH of 7.141 ± 0.134 and electrical conductivity of 112.846 ± 4.888 mS/cm. Likewise, a reduction in the COD was observed from 1210.15 ± 0.89 mg/L to 190.36 ± 16.58 mg/L in the 35 days of monitoring and with a maximum ORP of 426.995 ± 8.615 mV, whose internal resistance was 33.541 ± 2.471 Ω. The peak power density was 154.142 ± 8.151 mW/cm2 at a current density of 4.834 A/cm2, and the Rossellomorea marisflavi strain was identified with 99.57% identity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Food Waste and Environment Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)
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13 pages, 3235 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and Encapsulation of Phenolic Compounds from Sacha Inchi Shell for Future Application
by Shilka Kumari Mehta, Saeid Jafari, Khursheed Ahmad Shiekh, Saqib Gulzar and Kitipong Assatarakul
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1820; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051820 - 22 Feb 2024
Viewed by 760
Abstract
Sacha inchi shell (SIS), an underutilized by-product of sacha inchi oil processing, is a rich source of phenolic compounds. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design to investigate the effects of time (15–25 [...] Read more.
Sacha inchi shell (SIS), an underutilized by-product of sacha inchi oil processing, is a rich source of phenolic compounds. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design to investigate the effects of time (15–25 min), temperature (25–45 °C), and ethanol concentration (40–80%) on the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity by DPPH assay of the obtained extracts. The maximum TPC was at 15 min, 45 °C and 60%, TFC at 25 min, 45 °C and 60% and DPPH at 15 min, 35 °C and 80%. The optimized condition selected for encapsulation purposes was at 25 min, 35 °C and 80% ethanol concentration. RSM analysis showed that all models analyzed for all three assays were significant at 95% confidence. The SIS extract had a greater inhibitory zone against Escherichia coli measuring 15.34 mm at a concentration of 30 µg/mL than Staphylococcus aureus among the samples. The spray-dried microcapsules using different combinations of gum arabic and maltodextrin (GMM 1 and GMM2) resulted in a proper encapsulation layer and a smoother surface and shape obtained at 1000× magnification. Also, GMM 1 and GMM2 had particle sizes ranging from 2.95 ± 0.02 to 27.73 ± 0.38 and from 5.20 ± 0.01 to 29.30 ± 0.42 µm, respectively. The microcapsules were in the acceptable ranges for moisture content (<5%) and water activity (<0.6). It has been concluded that SIS extract showed high antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and its encapsulation could be further used in food and nutraceutical formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Food Waste and Environment Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)
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10 pages, 234 KiB  
Article
Feasibility of Meat Loss and Waste Estimates Based on Meat Consumption and Availability
by Paolo C. Colombani and Thomas A. Brunner
Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010458 - 4 Jan 2024
Viewed by 840
Abstract
Meat loss and waste are estimated at each stage along the food chain, but the methods used are complex, and the data needed are often fragmented. We, therefore, evaluated the feasibility of estimating meat loss and waste using a simpler method comparing meat [...] Read more.
Meat loss and waste are estimated at each stage along the food chain, but the methods used are complex, and the data needed are often fragmented. We, therefore, evaluated the feasibility of estimating meat loss and waste using a simpler method comparing meat availability and consumption, using Swiss meat consumption according to a national nutrition survey and Swiss meat availability according to food balance sheets. As availability is reported at the fresh meat level and consumption as consumed, items of the latter were converted to fresh meat equivalents before comparing consumption with availability. Consumed unprocessed meat was directly converted to fresh meat equivalents and consumed meat products after having identified their meat ingredients. Meat availability and meat consumption as consumed and as fresh meat equivalent were 138.4 g/d, 105.5 g/d, and 112.1 g/d, respectively. The resulting total meat loss and waste was 19% and varied from −36% to 38% for the different meat types. Estimating meat loss and waste based on meat availability and consumption derived from a national nutrition survey yielded results varying to such an extent that the evaluated method to estimate meat loss and waste cannot be recommended. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Food Waste and Environment Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)
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