Whole systems understanding of unavoidable food supply chain wastes for re-nutrition

Planet Earth is under severe stress due to imbalances in production, consumption, abuse and misuse of natural and man-made resources and, poor climate control. Our resources will be further stretched as global population increases from 7 billion today to over 9 billion by 2050. Industrialised nations are resource intensive societies heavily reliant of crude oil (petroleum) and gas for their energy, chemical and material needs based on traditional manufacturing processes. However, crude oil is a finite resource and its continued use represents a major environmental burden. Thus, development of new manufacturing processes and technologies based on alternative feedstocks, i.e., biobased and ideally produced as a waste or currently under-utilised, within the confines of a sustainable circular economy is of paramount importance nationally and globally.

Food and drink is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, employing approximately 400,000 people with a turnover of £76 billion. Food manufacturing is a complex process that is in the main linear- rather than circular-thinking. A staggering 9.9 million tonnes of food waste and food by-products are generated per year in the food industry alone, of which 56% is considered unavoidable. Unavoidable food supply chain wastes (UFSCW) lost after harvest and along the distribution and consumption chain have a dual negative environmental impact: undue pressure on natural resources and ecosystem services and pollution through food discards. However, current strategies for dealing with UFSCW are rudimentary and of low value: these include waste to energy (including incineration and anaerobic digestion), where possible; animal feed and bedding; compositing; ploughing back in to soil; and, least preferable, landfill. UFSCW is unique as a bioresource: this readily available biomass contains a treasure trove of unexploited, bio-based materials and chemicals, with a range of potential commercial applications.

Our aim is to develop a whole 'systems' understanding of upgrading and re-utilisation of unavoidable food supply chain wastes, [namely: brewers' spent grain; pea vine waste; out of specification citrus fruits; and out of specification potatoes], as a source of functional food ingredients. These four feedstocks are representative examples such that our methodologies and findings will be applicable to a wider range of feedstocks. Furthermore, key performance indicators such as amount of waste, pattern of generation, possible contamination with other food waste, seasonality, etc. will be used to develop an appropriate whole system thinking around food waste collection, reprocessing, and production of new food products.

The ultimate objective of our proposed research is to achieve a whole systems thinking "closed-loop" manufacturing of food products, with all input materials fully utilised. The ramifications and any unintended consequences associated with the proposed alternatives will be assessed, at an industry level, working with previously identified partners, and within a broader scope, determining the consequences of these changes in the entire UK food manufacturing sector, linking into the work of the highly networked EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Food.

The impact of our research will be beneficial to UK Plc across various stakeholders and sectors (industry, academia, governmental, non-governmental organisations) and at a global level. It will enable accelerated change in sustainable future manufacturing.

The work will impact directly into outreach and dissemination activities of FoodWasteNet, EU COST Action of food waste valorisation (Clark, Lead) and will be linked to the 'National Centre' activities of the CIM, which has a broad outreach span to companies through its membership list, good collaborative contact with Campden BRI and the new Food Innovation Network (DEFRA). Scale up opportunities will be explored with good connections with the new National Formulation Centre (CPI), BEACON, BIOVALE and IFR. We will build relationships with WRAP and look to promote our findings with them. Further networking and dissemination is expected via commercial partners with open innovation or business development interests. Also relationships are being established with overseas partners for science and innovation capacity building, through bids to the Newton Fund. Our work will impact the Food Valley (The Netherlands), the World Food System Centre at ETH (Switzerland), Food-Processing Initiative (Germany) and The Riddet Institute (New Zealand) as we plan to have site visits and share and disseminate best practice in food processing and manufacturing.

We will interact with Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Networks, seek to stimulate Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with industry. Our international visits and secondments will ensure UK academics are well placed to establish a 'global leadership' in food waste management. One of the key aspiration of UKTi is to develop many knowledge centres in the UK that leads to exporting high value manufacturing technologies.

The proposed research will deliver national and global impact as it is timely and aligns with the 2015 HM Government report 'Building a high value bioeconomy - opportunities from waste' which highlights the potential to convert underutilised wastes, for example UFSCW, into high value products. The Chemistry Growth Partnership's, "Chemistry at Work" strategy sector reports utilising biomass or waste as a raw material provides/delivers benefits of £8 billion and potential to grow the gross value added (GVA) of the sector from £195 bn to £300 bn by 2030. The 2013 Foresight Project looking at the long-term picture for the UK manufacturing sector between now and 2050 highlights four key areas commensurate with our proposal: i. more responsive processes, 'closer' to customers; ii. exposed to new markets; iii. more sustainable, and iv. more dependent on skilled workers. The Teagasc Technology Foresight 2035 final report, "Technology Transforming Irish Agrifood and Bioeconomy" specifically highlights a positive vision for Irish farming based on greater added value in the food processing sector coupled with new economic opportunities associated with the efficient use of waste and the extraction of biological raw materials in a circular bioeconomy. In 2013, the Knowledge Transfer Network and the Food and Drink Federation published ten pre-competitive research priority areas for Food and Drink, including 'Waste Minimisation' and 'New and Smarter Ingredients'. Our research aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 12, which serves to minimise environmental impact of wastes, better utilisation and management within the context of circular economy principles.