Analysis of the Food Loss and Waste Valorisation of Animal By-Products from the Retail Sector

João Pinto,Henrique A. Matos,Rui Boavida-Dias,João Azevedo

doi:10.3390/su14052830

João Pinto, Henrique A. Matos + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052830

Copy DOI

Abstract

The meat industry generates a large amount of animal by-products not only derived from the slaughter process but also due to the losses and waste of meat products along the supply chain, contributing to the world’s food loss and waste problem. Yearly, 1.7 Mt of meat in the European retail sector and 20% of meat for consumption is wasted in this sector of the supply chain. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to find and evaluate alternatives for the valorisation of agri-food residues, more specifically the meat waste from the food retail sector, through a technological perspective. Thus, we delve into the industrial processes already implemented and the emerging procedures that use muscle, bones and fats by-products from poultry, cattle and pork as the main raw materials in order to identify and characterise them. The results indicate that in addition to the current destinations—landfill, incineration and the rendering process—these animal by-products can be incorporated in the production of biodiesel, food formulations, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers and biogas through an industrial symbiosis approach. Consequently, the several valorisation processes and procedures identified not only suggest an increase in concern about the impacts of the disposal of these materials, but also highlight the potential associated with the use of animal by-products as raw material to obtain added-value products.

Highlights

Nowadays, there is a greater concern with the responsible management of available resources and the reduction of the environmental impacts caused by the production of solid waste and liquid and gaseous effluents
The wastage associated with the final stages of the food supply chain—retail sector and household—are the ones with the highest environmental impacts and economic costs since they imply the accumulation of all the resources, energy and emissions associated with the stage itself and with the ones that preceded it [2]
The work developed allows for the identification and characterisation of the main alternatives for the valorisation of animal by-products (ABPs) generated in the retail sector in a context of industrial symbiosis

Summary

Introduction

There is a greater concern with the responsible management of available resources and the reduction of the environmental impacts caused by the production of solid waste and liquid and gaseous effluents. The wastage associated with the final stages of the food supply chain—retail sector and household—are the ones with the highest environmental impacts and economic costs since they imply the accumulation of all the resources, energy and emissions associated with the stage itself and with the ones that preceded it [2]. It becomes increasingly important to reduce food waste, and to find alternatives for using and transforming the waste generated in the agri-food business into added-value products so as to make better use of resources and make the food supply chain (FSC) more sustainable and circular. In the European Union (EU), 14 million tonnes of meat are lost and wasted annually, of which 76% are wasted in the final steps of the food supply chain [8], resulting in the generation of waste in the form of animal by-products (ABPs) such as muscle, bones and fats

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion