The dairy industry produces large amounts of whey as a by- or co-product, which has led to considerable environmental problems due to its high organic matter content. Over the past decades, ...possibilities of more environmentally and economically efficient whey utilisation have been studied, primarily to convert unwanted end products into a valuable raw material. Sustainable whey management is mostly oriented to biotechnological and food applications for the development of value-added products such as whey powders, whey proteins, functional food and beverages, edible films and coatings, lactic acid and other biochemicals, bioplastic, biofuels and similar valuable bioproducts. This paper provides an overview of the sustainable utilisation of whey and its constituents, considering new refining approaches and integrated processes to covert whey, or lactose and whey proteins to high value-added whey-based products.
Citrus is a major processed crop that results in large quantities of wastes and by-products rich in various bioactive compounds such as pectins, water soluble and insoluble antioxidants and essential ...oils. While some of those wastes are currently valorised by various technologies (yet most are discarded or used for feed), effective, non-toxic and profitable extraction strategies could further significantly promote the valorisation and provide both increased profits and high quality bioactives. The present review will describe and summarize the latest works concerning novel and greener methods for valorisation of citrus by-products. The outcomes and effectiveness of those technologies such as microwaves, ultrasound, pulsed electric fields and high pressure is compared both to conventional valorisation technologies and between the novel technologies themselves in order to highlight the advantages and potential scalability of these so-called "enabling technologies". In many cases the reported novel technologies can enable a valorisation extraction process that is "greener" compared to the conventional technique due to a lower energy consumption and reduced utilization of toxic solvents.
The South American plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a great source of noncaloric sweeteners (steviol glycosides), mainly concentrated in its leaves, but also has important antioxidant compounds ...(vitamin C, polyphenols, chlorophylls, and carotenoids) and other important macro- and micronutrients such as folic acid and all of the essential amino acids except tryptophan. Traditionally, conventional methods have been used to recover nutritionally valuable compounds from plant food matrices. However, nowadays, the need for obtaining greener, sustainable, and viable processes has led both food industries and food scientists to develop new processes in full correspondence with the green extraction concept. This review focuses on some of the most promising nonconventional and emerging technologies, which may constitute a potential alternative to conventional methods or even could be combined to obtain a synergistic effect, thus reducing extraction time as well as solvent consumption and avoiding the use of toxic solvents.
•After treatment with an ultrasonic probe, ultrasound caused a decrease in particle size.•The distribution of size of whey proteins were narrowed.•The specific free surface of whey proteins were ...increased.•Ultrasonic bath treatment showed changes in molecular weight of protein fractions.
The aim of this study was to observe the effect of ultrasound on particle size and molecular weight of whey proteins. In this work high-intensity ultrasound (20kHz probe and 40kHz bath) were used. 10wt.% protein model suspensions of whey protein isolate (WPI) and whey protein concentrate (WPC-60) were treated with ultrasound probe (20kHz for 15 and 30min) and ultrasound bath (40kHz for 15 and 30min). The results of particle size distribution have shown that, after treatment with an ultrasonic probe of 20kHz, ultrasound caused a decrease in particle size, narrowed their distribution, and significantly increased the specific free surface in all samples. After treatment with ultrasonic bath of 40kHz, there was a significant reduction in the size of particles. After treatment with probe of 20kHz there was a significant decrease in molecular weight and protein fractionation. Ultrasonic bath treatment with 40kHz ultrasound also showed significant changes in the composition of the molecular weight of protein fractions. Prolonged treatment of WPI with ultrasonic bath of 40kHz encourages the formation of aggregates of molecules.
With the introduction of Industry 4.0, and smart factories accordingly, there are new opportunities to implement elements of industry 4.0 in nonthermal processing. Moreover, with application of ...Internet of things (IoT), smart control of the process, big data optimization, as well as sustainable production and monitoring, there is a new era of Internet of nonthermal food processing technologies (IoNTP). Nonthermal technologies include high power ultrasound, pulsed electric fields, high voltage electrical discharge, high pressure processing, UV-LED, pulsed light, e-beam, and advanced thermal food processing techniques include microwave processing, ohmic heating and high-pressure homogenization. The aim of this review was to bring in front necessity to evaluate possibilities of implementing smart sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, additive technologies with nonthermal technologies, with the possibility to create smart factories together with strong emphasis on sustainability. This paper brings an overview on digitalization, IoT, additive technologies (3D printing), cloud data storage and smart sensors including two SWOT analysis associated with IoNTPs and sustainability. It is of high importance to perform life cycle assessment (LCA), to quantify (En)—environmental dimension; (So)—social dimension and (Ec)—economic dimension. SWOT analysis showed: potential for energy saving during food processing; optimized overall environmental performance; lower manufacturing cost; development of eco-friendly products; higher level of health and safety during food processing and better work condition for workers. Nonthermal and advanced thermal technologies can be applied also as sustainable techniques working in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030 issued by United Nations (UN).
Market interest in aromatic plants from the Mediterranean is continuously growing mainly due to their medicinal and bioactive compounds (BACs) with other valuable constituents from essential oils ...(EOs). From ancient times, these plants have been important condiments for traditional Mediterranean cuisine and remedies in folk medicine. Nowadays, they are considered as important factors for food quality and safety, due to prevention of various deteriorative factors like oxidations and microbial spoilage. EOs have different therapeutic benefits (e.g. antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antifungal), while BACs mostly affect nutritive, chemical, microbiological, and sensory quality of foods. Currently, many plant extracts are used for functional (healthy) foods, which additionally fuels consumer and industrial interest in sustainable and non-toxic routes for their production. EO yields from dried plants are below 5%. Their extraction is strongly dependent on the hydrophobic or lipophilic character of target molecules, hence the common use of organic solvents. Similarly, BACs encompass a wide range of substances with varying structures as reflected by their different physical/chemical qualities. Thus, there is a need to identify optimal non-toxic extraction method(s) for isolation/separation of EO/BCs from plants. Various innovative non-thermal extractions (e.g. ultrasound-, high-pressure-, pulsed electric fields assisted extraction, etc.) have been proposed to overcome the above mentioned limitations. These techniques are “green” in concept, as they are shorter, avoid toxic chemicals, and are able to improve extract yields and quality with reduced consumption of energy and solvents. This research provides an overview of such extractions of both BAC and EOs from Mediterranean herbs, sustained by innovative and non-conventional energy sources.
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•Green extraction of bioactive compounds and essential oils from Mediterranean herbs.•Innovative non-thermal vs. conventional extraction techniques.•E3 principle of innovative non-thermal techniques.•The potential of Mediterranean herbs in food industry application.
Some functional foods contain biologically active compounds (BAC) that can be derived from various biological sources (fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, wastes, and by-products). Global food ...markets demand foods from plant materials that are "safe", "fresh", "natural", and with "nutritional value" while processed in sustainable ways. Functional foods commonly incorporate some plant extract(s) rich with BACs produced by conventional extraction. This approach implies negative thermal influences on extraction yield and quality with a large expenditure of organic solvents and energy. On the other hand, sustainable extractions, such as microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), high-pressure assisted extraction (HPAE), high voltage electric discharges assisted extraction (HVED), pulsed electric fields assisted extraction (PEF), supercritical fluids extraction (SFE), and others are aligned with the "green" concepts and able to provide raw materials on industrial scale with optimal expenditure of energy and chemicals. This review provides an overview of relevant innovative food processing and extraction technologies applied to various plant matrices as raw materials for functional foods production.
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