Enzymes in Valorization of Food and Beverage Wastes

Every year, a large quantity of food is wasted globally. It is estimated that approximately one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted worldwide, and it accounts for about 1.3 billion tons per year (Gustavsson et al. 2011). Food wastage can occur during various phases in the food cycle, including food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. Landfill and incineration are the major waste management practices in many countries. However, this also creates a lot of environmental problems, such as air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste generated from both food and beverage processing industries includes organic materials, which contain significant amount of carbon, nitrogen, and lipids in various forms, including starch, lignocellulose, proteins, and fat or oil. Consequently, hydrolysis of these components from food waste yields significant amounts of glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids that can be subsequently used for fermentative chemicals or biofuel production, and the overall concept is illustrated in Figure 21.1.