Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to summarise existing scientific literature on waste
and by-products from the meat industry and suggest how the meat industry can use
it in order to reduce environmental damage, increase food availability and
contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report is
a literature study were several databases were used.
In 2018, 340 millions tons of meat were produced and 23% were wasted in Europe
throughout the different steps along the production line of food, which includes
from field to fork. 64% of all waste occurred at the consumption stage, 19% - at the
manufacturing stage, 11% - in primary production and post-harvest and 5% - at the
distribution stage. There are many reasons that waste occur and the reason differs
depending on the stage.
Meat production and consumption have increased in recent years. A reduction of
meat waste in the meat industry leads to economical growth and better environment
because it reduces the release of greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane and meat
by-products with high pollutant characteristics.
Meat waste and by-products include trimmings, cuttings, bones, collagen,
carcasses, skins, fatty tissues, hoofs, internal organs and blood. All of these are rich
source of proteins, bioactive compounds, essential amino acids, vitamins and
minerals. Therefore they have a potential to be further used.
Bioactive peptides often have health-promoting effects such as antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antitumor activities when
ingested or absorbed. Bioactive peptides can help to prevent many diseases such as
cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease which are among the most common
diseases at the moment.
Waste and by-products can be used in many ways. Some of them are already
being used, for example, trimmings in hotdog production, but others are not.
Enzymatic hydrolysis can be used to generate hydrolyzates and certain bioactive
peptides from larger proteins, and the hydrolyzates can be used as dietary
supplements or can be incorporated to increase the protein content of food.
Bioactive peptides can be isolated from the hydrolyzates and used as functional
food components, dietary supplements or medicines. However, more research is
needed.