From Industrial Food Waste to Bioactive Ingredients: A Review on the Sustainable Management and Transformation of Plant-Derived Food Waste

According to the United Nations, approximately one-third of the food produced for human consumption is wasted. The actual linear Take-Make-Dispose model is nowadays obsolete and uneconomical for societies and the environment, while circular thinking in production systems and its effective adoption offers new opportunities and benefits. Following the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/CE), the European Green Deal, and the actual Circular Economy Action Plan, when prevention is not possible, recovering an unavoidable food waste as a by-product represents a most promising pathway. Using last year's by-products, which are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds, such as dietary fiber, polyphenols, and peptides, offer a wake-up call to the nutraceutical and cosmetic industry to invest and develop value-added products generated from food waste ingredients.

Automated summary

According to the United Nations, approximately one-third of the food produced for human consumption is wasted. The linear Take-Make-Dispose model is outdated and uneconomical, while circular thinking in production systems provides new opportunities. Recovering unavoidable food waste as by-products is a promising pathway, and utilizing last year's by-products rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds can drive innovation in the nutraceutical and cosmetic industry.