Utilization and Management of Food Waste

Abstract

The food industry generates a huge amount of waste annually around the globe from a variety of sources. Approximately one third of all food produced today goes to landfill as waste. The food waste is not only a humanitarian problem, but also a serious economic and environmental pollution problem. The global volume of food wastage has been reported to around 1.3bn tones worth to about $165 bn. In India, about 40% of the food produced is wasted, which is estimated to about Rs. 50,000 crores worth every year. The important types of food wastes generated are agricultural residue, processed food, fruit and vegetable processing, marine food, dairy processing, meat and poultry, hotel and restaurant, etc. The food industrial waste can be converted into byproducts mainly based on the processing of fruits and vegetables and allied food manufacturing, supply and distribution, livestock feed, using it as source of bioactive compounds, useful bioenergy production, artificial fertilizer and decomposed manure, a variety of chemicals, antioxidant, nutraceuticals, etc.