Introduction to Novel Approaches in the Valorization of Agricultural Wastes and Their Applications

Abstract

Sustainable food production, waste minimization, and valorization are critical concerns for the agricultural and food industry considering their environmental, social, and economic impacts. Foods are processed to prolong shelf life, make products available out of season, produce new products, and improve nutritional value. During processing, a significant amount of waste is generated, which attracts the attention of scientists and industrialists to valorize the value-added components, including dietary fibers, proteins, and bioactive components. This special issue focuses on the latest developments in waste valorization, covering different industries and methodologies. Within the special issue, waste valorization of some specific food groups, including fruit juice wastes, honeybee byproducts, soybean processing waste, grape pomace materials, and olive mill solid waste, are evaluated. On the other hand, novel approaches to valorizing agricultural wastes and their applications, also covering the recovery of natural pigments with potential health effects, are considered. Besides, nanotechnological and microbial bioconversion methods are used to improve the bioavailability and bioactivity of phytochemicals derived from wastes. It can be concluded that there are still some challenges in waste management and valorization concerning economic, safety, sensory, consumer acceptance, and regulative aspects, and further research is required to overcome these challenges and improve the quality and quantity of value-added products obtained from agricultural wastes and byproducts.

Replacing alfalfa hay with industrial hemp ethanol extraction byproduct and Chinese wildrye hay: Effects on lactation performance, plasma metabolites, and bacterial communities in Holstein cows

“…Alfalfa hay (AH) is a widely used roughage for dairy cows, but it is in limited quantities and expensive. As a result, a large number of agricultural processing byproducts are produced each year and are increasingly favored by dairy farms because of their high-quality fiber, abundant protein, and low prices (3)(4)(5).…”

Characterization of Băbească Neagră Grape Pomace and Incorporation into Jelly Candy: Evaluation of Phytochemical, Sensory, and Textural Properties

“…According to the operational data portal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Băbească Neagră occupied 2613 ha of the main noble wine grape varieties registered in cultivation in 2020 [ 13 ]. Waste minimization, sustainable food production, and valorization of by-products are important to prolong the shelf life of food products, produce new products, improve the nutritional value of products, and make products available out of season [ 14 ]. In the scientific literature, there are some studies on the valorization of grape-pomace (Kalecik Karasi cultivar) into soft candies, and their characterization from texture profile analysis, sensory analysis, color, opacity, and rheology testing point of view [ 15 ], but the study does not deal with proximate composition, FT-IR analysis, and SEM analysis of the pomace, nor with the phytochemical profile of the finished product.…”

Fermentation of Date Pulp Residues Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia kudriavzevii—Insights into Biological Activities, Phenolic and Volatile Compounds, Untargeted Metabolomics, and Carbohydrate Analysis Post In Vitro Digestion

“…The increasing amount of food waste has become a global concern due to its adverse effects, which are not limited to the environment but also extend to the economy and society [1]. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) statistics, around 1.3 billion tons of food waste is generated yearly, which equals one-third of the overall food produced for human consumption being wasted or lost [2].…”