Value-Added Product Development Utilising the Food Wastes

The food production and its processing in the developing nation produces large amounts of waste including by-products creating a negative impact on environment and also involves high expenditure. Food is wasted starting from its production to its final consumption in the households. Worldwide, approximately 1.3 billion ton of food waste is produced every year. Food wastes are nothing but the highly organic residues formed from food handling to processing either in solid or liquid form and can be broadly categorised into plant based and animal based which are further sub-categorised into cereals, root and tubers, fruits and vegetables, meat products, seafoods and dairy products. These wastes are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibres, micronutrients and bioactive compounds and hence can form base for the production of high value products including nutraceuticals which are of great benefit to the humans, as animal feed, in pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and for biofuel production. Wastes from such sources can be converted into various value-added products by applying suitable conversion methods. This chapter describes various food wastes and their conversion into various value-added products such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, chitosan, gelatin, collagen, enzymes, antioxidants and whey proteins, thereby reducing environmental pollution, recycling of wastes and creating wealth from waste.