Transforming Plant-Based Waste into Valuable Products Using Food Industry 4.0 Technologies: A Comprehensive Review

Overview

Plant-based food production creates by-products that hold many nutrients and bioactive compounds. Yet, food loss and waste stress global food security and sustainability. A recent review in Science of The Total Environment (Volume 955, December 2024) shows how Food Industry 4.0 technologies help turn plant waste into useful products. New tools make connections between waste and resource efficiency stronger.

Challenges in Food Systems

World food systems face many pressures. Pandemics, climate change, population growth, and urbanization push systems to their limits. Food loss and waste make problems worse. These losses hurt the environment and reduce food security. Cutting waste and using by-products well are key steps in food production.

Role of Food Industry 4.0 Technologies

Food Industry 4.0 uses advanced tools that connect data and production. These tools include:

• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Blockchain
• Robotics
• Smart sensors
• 3D printing
• Digital twins

These technologies push the limits of what we can extract from plant waste. They link processes tightly to get valuable compounds, making extraction fast and exact.

Benefits include:

• Waste reduction: They cut loss along the supply chain.
• Sustainability: They lower greenhouse gas emissions and use resources smartly.
• Enhanced food quality and safety: They boost monitoring and traceability in manufacturing.
• Increased efficiency: They speed up operations with automation and real-time data.

Key Insights

Plant-based by-products hold high-value bioactive agents that help health. Food Industry 4.0 tools let us extract and change these compounds. They work well for making functional ingredients, nutraceuticals, animal feed, biofuels, and other products. Digital tools link data points in a tight chain, which helps build consumer trust and meet regulations. These methods match global goals for sustainability and support food circularity.

Conclusion

Food Industry 4.0 technologies open clear paths to turn plant waste into valuable products. They link waste to wealth. This change advances sustainability and boosts global food security by using resources wisely.

Reference:
Aït-Kaddour, A., Hassoun, A., Tarchi, I., et al. (2024). Transforming plant-based waste and by-products into valuable products using various “Food Industry 4.0” enabling technologies: A literature review. Science of The Total Environment, 955, 176872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176872

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