Transitioning to Zero Waste in Agro-Food Sector – Novel Solutions for By-Product Valorisation

Food industry is prompted to make a production eco- friendly and sustainable. Among other issues, by-products generated during processing received a great attention due to large quantities and valuable chemical composition– high contents of fiber, protein, and/or bioactive compounds. They are no longer considered as a waste, but as a valuable resource for food, feed and energy production. This article presents results gained through different projects conducted by the authors where solutions for the use of food industry by-products in food have been found. Brewer’s spent grain, apple pomace, sugar beet pulp, oil press cakes, cocoa shell, citrus peel and even tobacco industry waste contain compounds that can be isolated and used in the form of extracts in food and other industries, but different ways of use of by-products “as such” are also shown on the examples of snacks, biscuits and chocolate, where not only problem of by-product disposal was resolved, but the nutritional values of these products were increased. Although projects were conducted locally, the results and findings can be applied worldwide in order to resolve food industry by-product issues