Food Processing Waste and By-Products Utilisation Network (FoodWasteNet)

The exploitation of abundant food waste and by-products for the sustainable production of a variety of existing and novel products is recognised as a potential strategy for the prevention manufacturing waste. This is driven by environmental and consumer pressures, EU legislation and commercial demands for renewable, biobased products with positive carbon balance. There is a large body of research which seeks to develop products with market potential from such feedstocks, including vegetable and fruit trimmings, fruit and sugar pulps, cereal residues and spent cereal grains, and fish and meat wastes. This is achieved through extraction and post-extraction modification using a combination of industrial biotechnology (IB) and process engineering technologies. The target products include, but are not limited to, biopolymers, bioplastics, biocomposites, oleochemicals, and speciality and platform chemicals, and have existing or potential application in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, packaging and construction industries. In order to achieve this, it is essential that we enhance our knowledge of the composition and potential uses of these feedstocks; how to apply existing and emerging technologies for extracting, fractionating and converting biocomponents from such feedstocks to bioproducts at large scale and in an efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.

To address the above challenges, a multidisciplinary approach is necessary and the proposed Network aims to bring together researchers and industrialists working in the areas of chemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, enzymology, microbial fermentation, chemical catalysis, polymer science, crop science, packaging and process engineering, with the view to develop novel platforms for the exploitation of these rich natural resources. The Network will run for 5 years, be open for new members and have a strong international dimension. It will be dynamic in its remit and evolve, adopting industry trends, advances in research capabilities, government policy and regulatory frameworks.

The aims of the network will be to foster the interaction between researchers and industrialists in order to realise the potential of using food waste and by-products to produce chemicals and biomaterials with market potential. For this, the Network will identify suitable feedstocks, novel products and product applications, and develop scalable technologies based on industrial biotechnology and process engineering for their sustainable production. A list of the main areas covered is provided below:

1. Feedstock availability and quality: Gather compositional data on food processing waste and by-products
2. Inter-dependencies between different streams of food processing wastes and supply chain issues
3. Market opportunities: Identify R&D opportunities to improve/create products in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, packaging and construction sectors
4. Regulatory criteria: Evaluate the influence of regulation on R&D strategies
5. Biochemical tools: Identify novel sources of biocatalysts with enhanced properties and activities, through high throughput sequencing cloning and metabolic engineering
6. Biochemical process control: Gain a molecular understanding of enzyme function and how this may be manipulated through protein engineering
7. Processing technologies for biomass fractionation: Evaluate existing and emerging technologies including supercritical CO2 and hydrothermal extractions, ionic liquids, ultra-sonication, and enzyme and microbial processing
8. Functionalisation of polysaccharides and proteins: Link structure to functionality and identifying potential application opportunities
9. Synthesis of novel chemicals: Develop processes for the enzymatic or chemical synthesis of speciality chemicals and oleochemicals
10. Process design: Develop a toolbox to assist the design of whole processes
11. Life cycle assessment: Exploit the use of common tools for LCA
12. Ethical concerns: Customer acceptance of products derived from waste

The main beneficiaries from the proposed Network include:

(i) Academics and early stage researchers: They will have the opportunity to obtain seed funding to test innovative ideas in collaboration with industry, build strong collaborations with researchers from other disciplines and industry leading to major grant funding applications for translational research and development, and develop an appreciation of the multiple factors influencing the commercialisation of processes for the utilisation of food waste. Young researchers will receive multi-disciplinary training through workshops and opportunities to engage with the Network's activities in an effort to develop their knowledge, skills, commercial awareness and their exposure in this diverse industry relevant field.

(ii) The commercial private sector: Interact with academics from diverse backgrounds through the exchange of ideas and know-how, build up an internal network of experts that can assist in industrial problem solving, develop intellectual property, and engage in research grant applications to advance their capabilities leading to commercialisation of new products and processes.

(iii) The UK economy: This will be achieved through the capitalisation of new market opportunities, the development of innovative products and processes from food chain waste and through investment for commercialisation driven by the advances in science and technology in the field.

(iv) Society and environment: This will be achieved through the minimisation of the amount food waste that goes to landfills and consequently result in a reduction in pollution and emissions, and through the production of sustainable products from alternative feedstocks to petrochemicals. The Network will also increase the effectiveness of public policy through the active involvement of Network members in national and international expert committees advising on industrial uses of food waste and on the associated technological, regulatory, environmental, economic and consumer acceptability aspects.