Food Waste Originated Material as an Alternative Substrate Used for the Cultivation of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus): A Review

Abstract

Pleurotus ostreatus (P. ostreatus) is considered a high-quality food, rich in proteins and bioactive compounds important for maintaining human health. Lately, a commonly used substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation—wheat straw, is more often replaced by alternative cellulose substrates originated from the agricultural and food industry. Utilization of wastes for mushroom cultivation has its added value: sustainable food waste management, production of high-quality food from low quality waste, as well as solving environmental, economic and global issues. This overview covered three categories of food waste: food-processing wastes, agro-cereal wastes and nut–fruit wastes, the most used for the cultivation P. ostreatus in the period of 2017–2022. Analyzed studies mostly covered the productivity and chemical characterization of the substrate before and after the cultivation process, as well as the morphological characteristics of the fruiting bodies cultivated on a specific substrate. Chemical analyses of mushrooms cultivated on food waste are not adequately covered, which gives room for additional research, considering the influence of substrate type and chemical quality on the fruiting bodies chemical composition.