scholarly journals A Systemic Design Approach Applied to Rice and Wine Value Chains. The Case of the InnovaEcoFood Project in Piedmont (Italy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Fiore ◽  
Barbara Stabellini ◽  
Paolo Tamborrini

Attention to food waste is an increasingly growing phenomenon today, especially in the context of a circular economy. The InnovaEcoFood project investigates the use of by-products of the Piedmontese rice and wine production chains to valorize their untapped potential in the food sector by applying the Systemic Design approach. We collected, systematized, and visualized a range of solutions for exploiting these by-products, starting from an in-depth literature review on the two value chains. With the support of a consortium of partners from both multidisciplinary industrial and academic sectors, it was possible to validate the links that have been generated. Eventually, the project created food products that integrated these outputs as ingredients (like flour and butter) because they have antioxidant properties and are rich in proteins. InnovaEcoFood has successfully tested how value could be created from waste. Moreover, using rice hull, marc flour, and bran lipid (butter) is of immediate technical and economic feasibility. It could be considered a viable way that deserves further experimentation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9294
Author(s):  
Giulia Chiaraluce ◽  
Deborah Bentivoglio ◽  
Adele Finco

The current agri-food supply chain is affected by different problems such as food loss and waste generation along the supply chain, and the circular economy offers a possibility to enhance and optimize the production and consumption to seek to a sustainable paradigm. The circular economy can be a winning approach to intervene and moderate the impacts generated in the agri-food sector, proposing actions and solutions to readmit wastes and by-products in the productive chain. The aim of this work was to perform a literature review coupled with a bibliometric analysis, using VOSviewer software, on the circular economy model in the agri-food sector, with particular relevance to the reuse and valorisation of wastes and by-products. Results showed that the topic is of particular relevance in the scientific community, and the concept is continuously evolving. Europe plays a leading role in the research, thanks to the involvement of the Member States, policy makers and stakeholders. Nevertheless, some aspects such as the development of a new economic circular model and some limitations of the current policies deserve further investigation.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Jawad Sarfraz ◽  
Tina Gulin-Sarfraz ◽  
Julie Nilsen-Nygaard ◽  
Marit Kvalvåg Pettersen

There is a strong drive in industry for packaging solutions that contribute to sustainable development by targeting a circular economy, which pivots around the recyclability of the packaging materials. The aim is to reduce traditional plastic consumption and achieve high recycling efficiency while maintaining the desired barrier and mechanical properties. In this domain, packaging materials in the form of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) can offer the desired functionalities and can be a potential replacement for complex multilayered polymer structures. There has been an increasing interest in nanocomposites for food packaging applications, with a five-fold rise in the number of published articles during the period 2010–2019. The barrier, mechanical, and thermal properties of the polymers can be significantly improved by incorporating low concentrations of nanofillers. Furthermore, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties can be introduced, which are very relevant for food packaging applications. In this review, we will present an overview of the nanocomposite materials for food packaging applications. We will briefly discuss different nanofillers, methods to incorporate them in the polymer matrix, and surface treatments, with a special focus on the barrier, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. On the practical side migration issues, consumer acceptability, recyclability, and toxicity aspects will also be discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6921
Author(s):  
Laura Sisti ◽  
Annamaria Celli ◽  
Grazia Totaro ◽  
Patrizia Cinelli ◽  
Francesca Signori ◽  
...  

In recent years, the circular economy and sustainability have gained attention in the food industry aimed at recycling food industrial waste and residues. For example, several plant-based materials are nowadays used in packaging and biofuel production. Among them, by-products and waste from coffee processing constitute a largely available, low cost, good quality resource. Coffee production includes many steps, in which by-products are generated including coffee pulp, coffee husks, silver skin and spent coffee. This review aims to analyze the reasons why coffee waste can be considered as a valuable source in recycling strategies for the sustainable production of bio-based chemicals, materials and fuels. It addresses the most recent advances in monomer, polymer and plastic filler productions and applications based on the development of viable biorefinery technologies. The exploration of strategies to unlock the potential of this biomass for fuel productions is also revised. Coffee by-products valorization is a clear example of waste biorefinery. Future applications in areas such as biomedicine, food packaging and material technology should be taken into consideration. However, further efforts in techno-economic analysis and the assessment of the feasibility of valorization processes on an industrial scale are needed.


Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Franklin Chamorro ◽  
María Carpena ◽  
Bernabé Nuñez-Estevez ◽  
Miguel A. Prieto ◽  
Jesus Simal-Gandara

Currently, agricultural production generates large amounts of organic waste, both from the maintenance of farms and crops, and from the industrialization of the product. Generally, these wastes are accumulated in landfills or burned, sometimes causing environmental problems. However, many scientific studies suggest that these residues are rich in bioactive compounds, so these matrices could be revalued for their use in food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical industries. In this way, the circular and sustainable economy is favored, while obtaining products with high added value. In this case, this approach is applied to the residues generated from kiwi production, since numerous studies have shown the high content of kiwi in bioactive compounds of interest, such as phenolic compounds, vitamins, and carotenoids. These compounds have been reported for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities, among other beneficial properties for health such as its use as prebiotic. Therefore, this article reviews the potential of residues derived from industrial processing and agricultural maintenance of kiwi as promising matrices for the development of new nutraceutical, cosmetic, or pharmacological products, obtaining, at the same time, economic returns and a reduction of the environmental impact of this industry, attaching it to the perspective of the circular economy.


Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Letricia Barbosa-Pereira ◽  
Mariana A. Andrade ◽  
Cássia H. Barbosa ◽  
Fernanda Vilarinho ◽  
Ana Sanches-Silva ◽  
...  

The bioconversion of fruit by-products into new functional and clean label ingredients/additives represents a sustainable approach with great potential for application in the food sector [...]


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 511-520
Author(s):  
Jorge Martínez Leal ◽  
Stéphane Pompidou ◽  
Carole Charbuillet ◽  
Nicolas Perry

AbstractNowadays, the world is shifting towards a more sustainable way of life, and product designers have an important part in this change. They have to eco(re)design their products to make them environmentally conscious throughout their lifecycle, and especially at their end-of-life (EoL). However, one can observe that synergy between product designers and recycling-chains stakeholders is lacking, mainly due to their weak communication. While many design-for-EoL approaches coexist in the literature, design from EoL must also be taken into account to fully develop a circular economy.RE-CYCLING is an innovative design approach that supports both design for and from EoL. This paper focuses on the recycling EoL-option and the validation of the associated indicators. To validate the design-for-recycling indicators, the recyclability of three smartphones is assessed. It is expected that indicators provide a similar score as none of them was designed to be recycled; results comply with expectations. In parallel, the convenience of using recycled materials in smartphones is analysed to validate our design-from-recycling indicators. It is found that the proposed indicators can indeed support designers integrating recycled materials in products.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2355
Author(s):  
Tiziana Amoriello ◽  
Roberto Ciccoritti

The great global challenge in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth over the coming decades is the promotion of the efficient use of resources, favoring a transition to a cleaner and circular economy [...]


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1187
Author(s):  
Manyou Yu ◽  
Irene Gouvinhas ◽  
Ana Barros

In recent decades, an intensive search for natural and novel types of antioxidant polyphenolics has been carried out on numerous plant materials. However, the current literature has very little information on their storage stability in the form of freshly prepared infusions. This study aims to characterize the polyphenolic composition and the antioxidant capacity of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) leaf infusions over one-day storage (analyzed at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h). Spectrophotometric evaluation demonstrated that the infusion presented no significant changes in the content of total phenols (131.40–133.47 mg gallic acid g−1) and ortho-diphenols (239.91–244.25 mg gallic acid g−1). The infusion also maintained high stability (over 98% and 82%, respectively) for flavonoids (53.30–55.84 mg rutin g−1) and condensed tannins (102.15–124.20 mg epicatechin g−1), with stable (>90%) potent antioxidant capacity (1.5–2.2 mmol Trolox g−1) throughout 0–24 h storage. The main decrease was observed during 0–2 h storage of flavonoids, 8–24 h storage of tannins, and 0–4 h storage of antioxidant capacity. Chromatographic analysis further revealed that 7 decreased and 11 increased compounds were found within 0–24 h storage. The good stability of the total polyphenolics and antioxidant properties might be related to the complex conversion and activity compensation among these compounds. The findings suggest that pomegranate leaf infusion could be of great interest in the valorization of high added-value by-products and in the application of green and functional alternatives in the food-pharma and nutraceutical industries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 100550
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Grajales-Hernández ◽  
Mariana A. Armendáriz Ruiz ◽  
Victor Contreras-Jácquez ◽  
Juan Carlos Mateos-Díaz

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 581-590
Author(s):  
Alexis JP Jacoby ◽  
Kristel Van Ael

AbstractThe field of design practice and design education is reaching out to address problems that cannot be solved by introducing a single product or service. Complex societal problems such as gender inequality cannot be solved using a traditional problem-solving oriented design approach. The specific characteristics of these problems require new ways of dealing with the dynamics, scale and complexity of the problem.Systemic design is a design approach integrating systems thinking in combination with more traditional design methodologies, addressing complex and systemic problems. This paper reports a systemic design approach in an educational context for the case of academic gender inequality. We show the way the problem was addressed and how design students were invited to take a systemic perspective, provide integrated interventions and take first steps in providing instruments for implementation. We conclude with the learnings from this case study, both on the process and the results.


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