Beyond compost: Using urban biowaste derived compost to produce new fertilizing products

The agro-food sector is a contributor to CO2 emissions and polluter due to its difficulty to deal with waste generation. Using the farm to fork concept we can observe that waste is produced in every link of the food value chain. Nevertheless, efforts are being made worldwide to reduce its environmental impact - from producing food with precision agriculture to sustainable food packaging systems – hoping to influence the way each country manages its biowaste. In this work we present the first results of an experiment, conducted under the project “BIOMA – Bioeconomy integrated solutions for the mobilization of the Agro-food market”, to produce a Urban waste compost based plant biostimulant.Conducted under the project “BIOMA – Bioeconomy integrated solutions for the mobilization of the Agro-food market” (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046112), by “BIOMA” Consortium, and financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Incentive System to Research and Technological development, within the Portugal2020 Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

IoT-based solution to reduce waste and promote a sustainable farming industry

Waste and the necessity to increase sustainability in the farming industry are some of the challenges addressed in the agri-food chain. With the potential of digital technologies, e.g., the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence, to revolutionize agriculture by enabling more efficient and intelligent monitoring, system architecture and IoT nodes were developed to support relevant parameters for composing a Sustainability Index for the Bio-economy (siBIO). These nodes are scalable, modular, capable of meeting on-demand production needs, and provide a cost-effective alternative to commercial solutions or manual data collection methods. The collected data is transmitted to middleware and then stored, analyzed, and displayed on a user-friendly dashboard, providing data to siBIO and consequently contributing to a more sustainable farming industry and reducing waste of resources and food. The results include the implementation of IoT nodes in a case study involving a vineyard and an apple orchard. The nodes are successfully collecting data on environmental, operational, and energy parameters such as temperature, air humidity, soil moisture, precipitation, and water and electricity consumption for irrigation. The tests of data transmission and collection, functionality and robustness of the proposed solution were promising, offering a way to quantify the sustainability index and facilitate the exchange of agricultural information in a reliable and standardized way.This work has been conducted under the project BIOMA Bioeconomy integrated solutions for the mobilization of the Agro-food market (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046112). This work has been also supported by the Foundation for Sci- ence and Technology (FCT, Portugal) through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CeDRI (UIDB/05757/2020 and UIDP/05757/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). Authors Gustavo Funchal and Vict oria Melo thank the FCT for the PhD Grants 2022.13712.BD and 2022.13868.BD, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Osmotic dehydration: an emerging technology applied to the fruit and vegetable sector

Apresentação em painelThe current unsustainable production and consumption patterns are one of the drivers for Bioeconomy strategy implementation. The horticultural industry produces quantities of by-products and waste whose valorisation, through innovation, enhances new products and production processes development. The aim of this work was to develop new dehydrated food products from horticultural by-products, pumpkin, and courgette, using osmotic dehydration (DO) technology by immersing the food in an osmotic solution (OS).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttps://www.insa.min-saude.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ICFNH22_Bookofabstracts.pd

Seaweed extracts to control postharvest phytopathogenic fungi in Rocha pear

This study was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to MARE (UID/MAR/04292/2020), the Associate Laboratory ARNET (LA/P/0069/2020), through national funds, and the grants to Tânia Vicente (2020.06230.BD) and Rafael Félix (SFRH/BD/139763/2018). The authors also acknowledge the support of project ORCHESTRA—add-value to ORCHards through thE full valoriSaTion of macRoalgAe (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-070155) co-funded by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional da União Europeia, Portugal 2020, through COMPETE 2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização, through FCT and COSMOS: Valorização biotecnológica da alga invasora Asparagopsis armata da Costa de Peniche (MAR-04.03.01-FEAMP-0370), and MACAU: Diversidade Macroalgas da reserva natural das Berlengas e costa adjacente, do conhecimento à utilização (MAR-04.03.01-FEAMP-0128) through GAL PESCA OESTE and MAR2020 in the framework of PORTUGAL2020 and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. C. Félix was supported by an FCT researcher contract (2021.03113.CEECIND).Fungal infections cause losses amounting to between 20 and 25% of the fruit industry’s total outcome, with an escalating impact on agriculture in the last decades. As seaweeds have long demonstrated relevant antimicrobial properties against a wide variety of microorganisms, extracts from Asparagopsis armata, Codium sp., Fucus vesiculosus, and Sargassum muticum were used to find sustainable, ecofriendly, and safe solutions against Rocha pear postharvest fungal infections. Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Penicillium expansum mycelial growth and spore germination inhibition activities were tested in vitro with five different extracts of each seaweed (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, aqueous, ethanolic, and hydroethanolic). An in vivo assay was then performed using the aqueous extracts against B. cinerea and F. oxysporum in Rocha pear. The n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanolic extracts from A. armata showed the best in vitro inhibitory activity against B. cinerea, F. oxysporum, and P. expansum, and promising in vivo results against B. cinerea using S. muticum aqueous extract were also found. The present work highlights the contribution of seaweeds to tackle agricultural problems, namely postharvest phytopathogenic fungal diseases, contributing to a greener and more sustainable bioeconomy from the sea to the farm.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preservation of fresh-cut rocha pear using codium tomentosum extract

Rocha is a Portuguese pear cultivar with high economic importance in the Portuguese Western Region. Degradative processes following its manipulation can quickly lead to product rejection, especially when sold as a fresh-cut product. The efficacy of a marine-based edible coating to inhibit superficial browning development in fresh-cut Rocha pear slices was investigated over a storage period of 15 days. The aqueous extract of Codium tomentosum, an edible green seaweed, was incorporated in an edible coating (0.5 g 100 mL−1) for fresh-cut Rocha pear. This novel treatment effect on the quality parameters of the pears was compared with a commercial coating currently used by industry and a control (dipping in deionised water). After 15 days storage at 4 °C, samples treated with the seaweed extract exhibited fewer colour changes and lower rates of superficial browning than control and commercial samples. Seaweed extract treatment was also observed to inhibit yeast and mould development, which may further contribute to shelf-life extension

Estratégias para redução e valorização de co-produtos de uma indústria hortofrutícola

Mestrado em Engenharia Alimentar - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaO desperdício alimentar é problemático face ao crescimento da população demográfica, à escassez de recursos naturais e ao impacto ambiental. As principais estratégias de combate passam pela implementação de políticas de gestão e valorização de resíduos agro-industriais. Neste propósito, efectuou-se o levantamento do desperdício gerado numa empresa de hortofrutícolas – produtos da IV Gama e para mercado in natura, onde são descartadas quantidades significativas de matéria vegetal, resíduos e subprodutos, respectivamente. Foi efectuado o levantamento documental dos quantitativos gerados, a caracterização e a identificação dos respectivos circuitos de escoamento. Na produção de IV gama, constataram-se valores de quebra, de cerca de 40%, cuja valorização actual associa fraco retorno económico. A redução do volume de resíduos pelo aumento da eficiência dos processos tecnológicos e o encaminhamento dos mesmos para a produção de energia renovável, avizinham-se como estratégias adequadas, face à natureza perecível e aos elevados níveis de contaminação. Por outro lado, cerca de 10 a 20% do total de matéria-prima laborada para mercado em fresco é desviada para destinos de valor económico reduzido. Estes subprodutos apresentam maior estabilidade fisiológica/bioquímica do que os resíduos e, em consequência, o potencial bioactivo associado permite encará-los como ‘novas matérias-primas/ingredientes’. Assim, conjecturam-se como vias de valorização, a sua utilização no desenvolvimento de novos produtos e/ou como matrizes para extracção de compostos bioactivos. Os subprodutos que não reúnam características edíveis (frutos e tubérculos contaminados) poderão ser canalizados para a produção energética em complemento dos resíduos. Os custos associados às diferentes propostas alternativas são ainda elevados face aos imputados na gestão tradicional destes materiais, obrigando a um faseamento temporal na respectiva implementação. Salienta-se por fim que o desenvolvimento de novas linhas de produção de alimentos e tecnologias de extracção inovadoras, encontram-se ainda em fases incipientes exigindo um contínuo esforço de colaboração entre a investigação e a indústriaN/

Do prato ao prado - a compostagem como estratégia de bioeconomia para as agroindústrias

Apresentação em PainelOs objetivos ambientais e a ação climática estão atualmente no centro das políticas europeias de desenvolvimento, os quais estão preconizados no Pacto Ecológico Europeu e Plano de Ação para a Economia Circular. A redução de resíduos alimentares na Europa deverá ser de 50% até 2030, como contributo para os ODS. Em Portugal, estima-se uma produção anual de 1,74 x 109 kg de bioresíduos urbanos, à qual acresce a produção de bioresíduos agroindustriais. De acordo com a comissão europeia, apenas 5% são reciclados, pelo que se identifica uma oportunidade de valorização. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da aplicação de palha de arroz, produto de baixo valor acrescentado, como estruturante, no processo de compostagem de biorresíduos agroindústriais. Construíram-se 3 pilhas de compostagem, à escala piloto, variando a razão C/N e o estruturante, C/N30+palha, C/N30+estilha e C/N50+estilha. A temperatura, humidade e condutividade das pilhas, foram monitorizadas em tempo real, com recurso a sensores ioT. A caracterização final dos produtos foi realizada de acordo com os parâmetros obrigatórios na legislação referente aos corretivos orgânicos. Os resultados obtidos revelaram a produção de 3 corretivos orgânicos de elevada qualidade (Classe I) de acordo com a legislação vigente, evidenciando o uso da palha de arroz no processo. A compostagem poderá ser uma estratégia nacional de valorização de biorresíduos, substituindo cerca de 30% dos adubos não orgânicos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Desenvolvimento de novos produtos alimentares para valorização de subprodutos da fileira hortofrutícola, pela aplicação da tecnologia de desidratação osmótica.

FEDER, COMPETE 2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Desidratação osmótica: uma tecnologia emergente aplicada à fileira hortofrutícola

Os atuais padrões de produção e de consumo pouco sustentáveis são um dos motores para a implementação de uma estratégia de Bioeconomia. A indústria hortofrutícola produz quantidades de subprodutos e resíduos cuja valorização, através da inovação, potencia a criação de novos produtos e processos produtivos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento de novos produtos alimentares desidratados a partir de subprodutos hortofrutícolas, abóbora e curgete, utilizando a tecnologia de desidratação osmótica (DO), mergulhando o alimento numa solução osmótica (SO). Este pré-tratamento antecede a secagem convectiva, por remoção parcial da água sem danificar o alimento, mantendo a sua qualidade e segurança. Com os produtos desenvolvidos pretende-se dar resposta a desafios reais da agroindústria, valorizando matérias-primas biológicas e reposicionando a cadeia de valor agroalimentar nacional.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Natural ingredients obtained from Brassica oleracea L. waste

There is a clear tendency to incorporate natural-based ingredients into food formulations, namely in products from the bakery industry. These type of ingredients have been highlighted as promising alternatives to commonly used artificial ingredients and have been well accepted by consumers due to the associations with beneficial health effects [1]. Natural ingredients, acting simultaneously as preservation and functionalization agents, due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, are particularly valued when obtained from plant species, namely through the use of bio-waste [2]. The aim of this work was to obtain a new bioactive ingredient with functional properties, extracted from B. oleracea cultivars (cabbage) waste, to be incorporate in bakery products. For this, two extractions methods (heat assisted extraction, HAE and ultrasound assisted extraction, UAE) were tested. In each method, three independent variables, time (t), temperature or power (T; P) and solvent (S, % of ethanol) were combined in design of using response surface methodology (RSM). The content of total phenolic compounds, quantified through the Folin-Ciocalteu method, was the experimental response used in the optimization procedure. The polynomial models were successfully fitted to the experimental data and used to determine the optimal HAE and UAE conditions. The results obtained for the extraction by HAE showed that the maximum antioxidant activity was optimal by the S/L ratio (S/L = 49.1 g/L) and temperature (77 ºC), but for a short time (15.5 min) and with an ethanol percentage around 26.8 %. The temperature and time seem to be the least determining factors in this optimization, since the ratio and solvent percentage are the factors that most influence the extraction process. This way, it was possible to obtain an extract with total phenols averging of 19.82 mg/g. For UAE, the results showed that power appears to be one of the least important factors in the extraction of total phenols, with solvent percentage and S/L ratio being the most important factors. The optimal point was set at 458.4 W, and ratio S/L (38.36 g/L), but in the lower values of solvent percentage (42.2 %) and extraction time (19.9 min). At the optimal point, higher quantities of total phenols was predicted when compared to the ones achieved in the optimization runs, reaching 19.35 mg/g. In an overall, it was possible to observe that the UAE, using a small amount of solvent, presented a concentration of phenolic compounds similar to HAE, a conventional methodology. The extract rich in phenolic compounds will later have its antimicrobial and antioxidant capacity tested, in order to be incorporated into bakery products as a natural preservative. Thus being the main purpose of this work the replacement of artificial preservatives by natural agents.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), for Tatiane C.G. Oliveira grant (2021.06046.BD), M. Carocho’s contract (CEECIND/00831/2018), and for L. Barros’ contract, through the institutional scientific employment program-contract. E. Pereira and C. Caleja are grateful to the BEONNAT (BBI-2019-SO1-R1 - 887917) and Healthy-PETFOOD (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-047073) projects, respectively, for their contracts. The authors are also grateful to the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of by “BIOMA”, and GreenHealth projects and by FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio