Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Highlights
Spoke 02
These activities include antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antitumor, antidiarrheal, antihypertensive, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-lowering, and cardioprotective properties. Fruit and vegetable processing wastes, in particular, comprise a higher percentage of biomass than the edible portion. These compounds can be extracted, purified, and characterised using emerging technologies, allowing for the development of new commercial applications in the food and non-food industries.
Maximising the economic value of these target compounds by adopting appropriate recovery strategies from agri-food waste could increase their yield. Moreover, the recovery of high-value compounds could lead to the development of innovative products and/or materials, highlighting the importance of science and technology-based innovation to improve the food system's sustainability. Finally, reducing food waste by recovering bioactive compounds present in waste represents a crucial solution to increase the sustainability of the food production system and also contributes to reducing waste management costs which can be a serious issue, especially for small-scale producers.
The biggest research challenge is the identification and optimisation of the best "extraction" conditions, which improve the release of bioactive compounds from the plant matrix in which they are encapsulated. Work package 2.1 of Spoke 02 works in this direction: utilising innovative technologies to extract bioactive compounds from food waste and by-products. These technologies include controlled hydrodynamic cavitation, deep eutectic solvents, and microbial and enzymatic biotechnologies.
Novel mild and downstream technologies for green extraction of bioactive compounds (e.g., controlled hydrodynamic cavitation, deep eutectic solvents, microwave- ultrasound, biodegradable solvent-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field, plasma, high pressure, CO2-SFE, auto- hydrolysis process, membrane technologies) from food by- products/waste and their biochemical, microbiological, structural and functional characterization in terms of composition to define the optimal valorisation strategy.
(Bio)technological and bio catalytical processes (microorganisms, microalgae, insects, enzymes) for food by- products/waste pre-treatment and reuse in food/feed and non- food chains (in connection with Spokes 3 and 4).
Safety, nutritional, texture and rheological value assessment by different spectroscopic analyses (NMR, IR, MS, HPLC, X-Ray scanner, other assays) of new products from agri-food by-products/waste and sensory analyses and consumer involvement strategies to enhance acceptability and evaluate market potentials of novel foods. Selected extracted compounds in Task 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 will be used for formulation, design, and development of prototypes from agri- food/marine by-products/waste (in connection with Spokes 3 and 4).
New sustainable processes for stabilisation and sanitization of biomasses to be reintroduced in the production chain (in connection with Spoke 3). High pressure homogenization will be applied to biomasses as an alternative to thermal treatment for microbial inactivation. In addition, essential oils and aroma compounds will be tested to inactivate pathogenic and spoilage microbial species.
Environmental performance of new-products and processes from the previous tasks for sustainable food systems and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) following a cradle to grave approach (in connection with Spokes 1 and 7).
Optimization of green/mild technologies applied to extract bioactives/proteins/peptides from agri- food/dairy by-products/waste (M18)
Characterization of bioactive compounds extracted from agri-food specific by- products/waste (M24)
Biotechnological and bio catalytical processes for pre-treatments/reuse of specific by- products/waste (M24) M2.1.3.1. Obtainment of bio-compounds from agri-food by-products/waste as ingredients for cosmeceuticals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, safe novel foods and feeds (M24)
Identification of the most suitable method for the biomass stabilisation and sanitization (M24)
Finalised environmental sustainability results of new bio-based processes and products (M30).
