Currently, the population is experiencing severe water stress mainly due to high water consumption by industries. Food and beverage processing consumes up to 90% of freshwater, resulting in large volumes of wastewater that is often treated with complex, costly and environmentally damaging processes. The purpose of this study is to perform the first bibliometric analysis to evaluate and discuss the evolution in the use of environmentally friendly technologies for wastewater treatment in food processing plants. A total of 606 documents published up to August 2022 were retrieved from Scopus. Data were manually standardized. VOSviewer version 1.5.18 and Bibliometrix version 4.0.0 were used to perform scientific mapping and evaluate bibliometric indicators of quantity, quality and structure. Scientific production is growing exponentially due to factors such as strict environmental policies and increased environmental awareness. The average number of authors per document is 4.056 and prolific authors in the field have not yet been defined. The contribution of the countries (led by the United States with 104 documents) was associated with their gross domestic product (GDP), level of trade and industrialization. Likewise, institutions from China (third place with 70 documents) have the highest contribution in the field. On the other hand, most of the journals where the documents were published are of high quality according to different metrics. According to the most influential articles, the frequency of keywords and their dynamics over time, the use of microalgae, microorganisms and plants for the treatment of effluents generated during food processing is the main trend. The processes also focus on the recovery or recycling of compounds of interest in wastewater such as phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon to contribute to the circular economy.

Studies specifically referring to the evaluation of learning levels and awareness of university students in environmental matters are incipient. In that order, the objective of this research is to establish the influence curriculum of the San Pedro University, Sullana subsidiary on the level of environmental knowledge of undergraduate students, 2017. The research design is non-experimental, applicative, observational and descriptive. The study population corresponds to undergraduate students of the San Pedro University, Sullana, 2018. The total population comprises 2050 students; the sample is structured by a non-probabilistic sample, represented by 188 undergraduate students of the San Pedro University Sullana 2017, students from different Professional Schools. The survey technique was applied, through a knowledge assessment questionnaire on environmental issues. With a significance level of 0.05, it was demonstrated that the Study Plan of the San Pedro University subsidiary Sullana 2017 doesn’t have any significant influence on the level of environmental knowledge of undergraduate students. With an average of 2.73% of the courses dedicated to the environmental issue, it is concluded that environmental issues are not a priority within the curricular contents of the San Pedro University, Sullana subsidiary.