Background

Identifying the most appropriate edible and inedible food waste streams for valorisation, regarding robustness of supply, quality and composition, is important in helping stakeholders build a more sustainable and secure food system.

Data available in FoodWasteEXplorer

Initially, a list of 75 prioritised waste or co-product streams was prepared, based on the most environmentally challenging foods of large volume, e.g. spent grains (alcoholic beverages). Using this list, peer-reviewed publications and existing databases were identified, and composition data added to an Excel-based database. More than 25,000 data points were collected. These included proximates (fat, protein, etc.), inorganics (sodium, potassium, etc.), vitamins (carotene, vitamin E, etc.), undesirable components (toxins, bacteria, etc.), bioactives (anthocyanins, polyphenols, etc.) and other compounds relevant to valorisation processes (volatile content, biogas composition, etc.).

Filters can be applied to retrieve subsets of data, such as side streams (e.g. peel, stalks, seeds) and component groups (e.g. vitamins, minerals).

Once the REFRESH project ends, FoodWasteEXplorer will be hosted and maintained by EuroFIR AISBL.