Environmental Stewardship in Food Processing: Advancing Sustainable Technologies and Waste Valorization

Food Processing (FP) is an important aspect in achieving sustainable food systems. Agriculture is the major source of human food and contribute significantly to environmental degradation at all levels of the food chain. FP relies heavily on biomass energy, which releases pollutants into the environment when burned and produces waste in both the upstream and downstream processes. For example, when processing tubers such as cassava and sweet potatoes, peels are removed and discarded. Similarly, when processing animal products, many organic wastes are produced that pollute the environment. For food processing to be sustainable, it should aim to protect the environment so that humans can continue enjoying its benefits. If food processing is destructive to the environment, sustainability of food systems will be in jeopardy. This therefore calls for food processing approaches that maintain the environment while providing all the necessary energy and nutrient for human and animal healthy living. This review will explore the strategies that optimize food processing and value addition to reduce postharvest losses and make food available throughout the year even in areas where production does not happen while at the same time alleviate adverse effect of such processes on environment. A healthy diet starts with a healthy food system.Many local or industrial food processing companies dump processing by-products in the environment thereby by polluting the same environment that is a bedrock for healthy diet. These organic wastes are not only a sore in the eyes but also a major source of food contamination. These organic wastes can be leveraged to produce products of economic values. For example molasses can be used to make ethanol, sunflower cakes could be used as animal feeds, cassava or sweet potato peels could be used to produce organic acids and enzymes that have application in food industry. This study will therefore explore strategies to reduced disposal of processing byproducts as wastes but rather leverage their availability as sources of raw materials to produce more economically viable products to support a sustainable food systems. The study will focus on location- and size-specific strategies that alleviate accumulation and disposal of wastes into the environment and foster sustainable food processing.Under this RT we focus on agriculture-food processing-environment interaction and expect manuscripts to cover closely related or the following thematic areas;1. Processing of agricultural products (tubers, cereals, legumes) to primary (main product) and secondary products (made from waste materials generated during processing of main product). 2. Value addition or conversion of agricultural by-products (crops and animal) into economically viable products3. Approaches to reduce accumulation of food processing by-products in the environment4. Use of bioprocesses to remove environmental wastes and create valuable products5. Bio-fermentation and bio-digestion of wastes generated from food processing industry6. Food waste management7. Functional ingredients and bio-actives from food processing by-products8. Valorization of by-productsArticle TypesThis Research Topic welcomes a range of contributions, including:1. Original Research Articles presenting novel experimental, modeling, or systems-based findings2. Reviews and Mini Reviews summarizing current progress, limitations, and future directions3. Perspectives and Policy Briefs highlighting interdisciplinary approaches and regulatory implications4. Methods and Protocols detailing innovative approaches for process optimization or waste valorization5. Case Reports and Data Reports describing practical applications of sustainable technologies within industry or community settings Topic editors: Smith Nkhata, Kingsley George Masamba Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79861/environmental-stewardship-in-food-processing-advancing-sustainable-technologies-and-waste-valorization