Waste to wellness Valorizing plant peel waste for functional and nutritional improvement of restructured meat products

Abstract

Close to one-third of all food produced is wasted. The quest, therefore, for sustainable solutions to address the situation has never been more urgent. An oft-overlooked source of this waste is the fruit and vegetable by-products, such as peels, discarded at the consumer, retail, and other food service levels. Including all parts of fruits and vegetables, this fruit and vegetable waste constitutes close to 16% of the total food waste and contributes approximately 6% to global greenhouse gas emissions (Râpă et al., 2024). Plant peel waste (PPW) represents a literal treasure trove of various phytochemicals and bioactives such as polyphenols, carotenoids, pectin, proteins, phytosterols, dietary fiber, flavonoids, and anthocyanins (Lau et al., 2021). Many of these, for instance, pectins and proteins, can be utilized to improve the functional attributes of various food products. Research regarding the underpinning mechanisms and utilization of these biopolymers in the context of food and nutritional applications is gaining increasing focus. Similarly, restructured meat (RM) products offer a sustainable pathway for the mitigation of meat processing waste streams. RM products involve the utilization of low-value or usually underutilized carcass cuts, such as trimmings and/or by-products, which are otherwise discarded, to formulate comparatively higher value products (through reorganization and binding) resembling intact muscle (Samad et al., 2024). However, RM products such as nuggets, sausages, and patties often face challenges associated with both quality and safety, such as oxidation, texture variations, and water holding capacity, as well as microbial risk factors (stemming from disassembly and subsequent reassembly of trimmings from a diverse range of meat cuts with their own unique microfloral populations, and greater surface area for bacterial proliferation) (Patel et al., 2023). These issues can compromise both the shelf life and nutritional value of RM products. Various components isolated from PPW can be leveraged through their integration with RM products, potentially helping meat industries turn waste into wellness by enhancing product quality and safety, improving nutritional and health attributes, and addressing global sustainability challenges.

Keywords: Food waste, Plant peel waste (PPW), Fruit and vegetable by-products, Phytochemicals, Bioactive compounds, Pectin, Restructured meat (RM), Meat processing waste