Innovation needed to meet the challenges of population growth and health : Improving sustainability through the use of underutilised products

Vassilios Raikos – Viren Ranawana

Food security

FAO 2009, State of food insecurity, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome

http://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/blog/climate-change-global-food-security-and-us-food-system

[. . .] a situation that exists when all people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. (FAO 2009)

Global population is still increasing

UN 2017. World population prospects: 2017 revision. United Nations, New York

https://fruitworldmedia.com/index.php/featured/2602/

Food (in)security

FAO 2010 State of world food insecurity 2010 Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome

Number of undernourished people in the world

What we are faced with..

• Population projected to rise to nearly 10 billion by 2050 (FAO)

• Increase in food demand by 60-90%

• Finite arable land: projected to decrease with growing populations and climate change

Valin et al., 2014.The future of food demand: understanding differences in global economic models. Agric. Econ., 45, 51-67.

What are the solutions?

Science & technology

Capital investment

Increase food production

Novel & under- exploited crops

Reduce waste Processing by-products

Food waste: why?

• The sources of food processing waste are classified into:

Agricultural waste Food processing waste Distribution waste Consumption waste

Food waste: a global challenge

https://www.cfr.org/blog/reducing-food-loss-and-waste-feed-worlds-nine-billion-people-2050

Food waste: how much?

Van Dyk et al., 2013. Food processing waste: Problems, current management and prospects for utilisation of the lignocellulose component through enzyme synergistic degradation. Renew Sust. Energ. Rev., 26, 521-531

Food waste in the UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24603008

Supermarket giant Tesco has revealed it generated almost 30,000 tonnes of food waste in the first six months of 2013

Hierarchy for waste processing

Lin et al., 2013. Food waste as a valuable resource for the production of chemicals, materials and fuels. Current situation and global perspective. Energy Environ., Sci., 6, 426-464.

Mirabella et al., 2014. Current options for the valorisation of food manufacturing waste: a review. J. Clean Prod., 65, 28-41

Waste? Not really..

What can we do?

http://rvfoodsystem.org/food-systems

Consumer perception Novel foods Reformulation Underutilised crops

Valorisation of primary produce waste • Large quantity of food discarded or used as animal feed

• Primary produce 8-10 million mt

• Post-harvest and processing waste 10-28 million mt

• Secondary products from primary production and food processing that are fit for human consumption

www.independent.co.uk; www.abc.net.au; www.visar-Europe.com; www.socialistworker.com;

Case studies – Rowett Institute

• Case study 1: Yogurt reformulation with spent brewer’s yeast

• Case study 2: Vegetable breads

• Case study 3: Broad bean hull

Case study 1: Yogurt reformulation with spent brewer’s yeast

Background:

The macronutrient composition of milk is a major determinant of the sensory qualities of yogurt

Dietary fat contribute to the flavour, appearance and texture of foods and have a positive impact on consumer liking and acceptance

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the scientific evidence linking high fat diets and the development of CNCD

During the brewing process, many kinds of wastes are generated, such as brewery

spent grain, hot trub and residual brewer’s yeast

Spent brewer’s yeast

• Spent brewer’s yeast is a by-product of the fermentation process with significant nutritional value

• Yestimum® powder (Beta-glucan ingredient made from brewer’s yeast)

Nutritional analysis

Nutritional Analysis

% (w/w) β-glucan

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Energy (kcal/100g) 62 62 63 63 64

Protein (g/100g) 6.51 6.44 6.63 6.29 6.53

Ash (U) (g/100g) 1.31 1.32 1.32 1.32 1.33

Moisture (g/100g) 83.18 83.01 82.72 82.63 82.37

Carbohydrates (g/100g) 9.00 9.02 8.90 9.19 8.93

Total Sugars (g/100g) 7.31 7.13 7.31 7.20 7.30

Sodium (g/100g) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1

Dietary Fibre (g/100g) <0.1 0.20 0.43 0.57 0.84

Fat (g/100g) <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1

Proximate composition and CLSM of yogurt samples with Yestimum®

Physico-chemical properties

β-glucan

(g/100g)

Syneresis

(%)

Viscosity

(Pa.s)

TA

(% ) Colour

L* a* b*

0.0 12.06 1.5 11.61 2.2 17.29 0.7 46.00 3.2

-1.10 0.1a 7.03 0.3a

0.2 12.61 2.2 10.06 1.3 16.24 0.9 45.38 3.5 -0.98 0.1a

7.08 0.4ac

0.4 10.89 2.4 11.18 1.7 16.01 1.1 47.78 0.8

-0.97 0.1a

7.20 0.3ac

0.6 10.77 0.9 11.80 2.1 16.92 1.2 45.93 2.4

-0.68 0b

7.76 0.3bc

0.8 10.29 1.9 10.75 0.6 17.25 1.7 45.83 2.0

-0.60 0.1b 7.65 0.3ac

Properties related to sensory perception of yogurts

Texture analysis and sensory profile

Textural property

(g/100g) β-glucan

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Hardness (g) 26.00 5.2 22.20 6.4 23.20 5.0 27.60 4.6 31.00 4.9

Total Work Done (mJ) 6.00 1.0 5.36 1.5 5.66 1.4 6.66 1.2 7.40 1.1

Adhesive Force (g) 26.00 3.7 25.20 6.5 26.40 3.2 28.60 4.0 31.60 2.8

Adhesiveness (mJ) 8.38 1.3 8.12 2.3 8.32 1.0 9.22 1.5 10.12 0.9

Appearance Flavour Texture Aftertaste Overall Liking

Control 6.7 1.5 6.2 1.7 6.1 1.6 6.0 1.6 6.2 1.8

0.8% β-glucan 6.5 1.6 4.9 1.9 5.4 1.7 4.7 1.7 5.0 1.8

Non-specific sensory attributes of yogurt samples fortified with β-glucan

Fermentation process

Fermentation time is shortened by the addition of Yestimum®

Case study 2: Vegetable breads

Vegetable waste is high in UK: 25% (www.wrap.org)

Waste produce could be used in reformulation strategies

Dried and fresh forms could be used effectively

Could replace up to 20% of the flour

Vegetables improve nutrition of bread

Plain bread Carrot bread Tomato bread

Protein 17 11 12

Carbohydrates 68 59 60

Fat 11 12 12

Ash 3 3 3

Fibre 4 7 7

Carotenoids 3 159 136

Two medium slices provide between 30-50 g of fresh vegetables

All values in g/100g

Vegetable addition improves bread oxidative stability

Vegetable addition can improve bread shelf-life

Case study 3: Broad bean hull

• UK is the leading producer of broad beans in Europe (740,000 t)

• The hull is a significant by-product of broad bean processing

• Shows potential as a human food

Eurostat statistics retrieved at www.ec.europa.eu; www.gardenbetty.com

Composition of broad bean hull

g/100 g of dry powder

Protein 18

Fat 1.3

Carbohydrates 19

Ash 8

Fibre (AOAC) 49

www.gardenbetty.com; www.plantvillage.org

Broad bean hull is rich in pro-anthocyanidins

LC-MS analysis

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

140.0

160.0

180.0

Bean Hull - 1/10 Wheat Bran - Neat

Equ

ivile

nt

of

Gal

lic A

cid

(m

M)

Antioxidant potential

Total polyphenol

content

Broad bean hull contd.,

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Bean hull Wheat bran

Iro

n S

ulp

hat

e

Co

nce

ntr

atio

n (

uM

)

Bean hull inhibits α-Amylase enzyme activity

IC 50 = 85 ug/mL

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Acarbose Bean hull

Co

nce

ntr

atio

n (

ug/

mL)

Bean hull inhibits α-Glucosidase enzyme activity

www.lovethegarden.com

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

Bean Hull Acarbose

Co

nce

ntr

atio

n R

eq

uir

ed

fo

r 5

0%

In

hib

itio

n (

µg/

ml)

IC 50 = 5.3 ug/mL

• Broad bean hull may be used to produce healthier foods

• Particularly ‘diabetes-friendly’ foods

• Initial developmental work with bread show promising results

• No effects on;

• Flavour

• Texture

• Proving

• Could be a more effective alternative to wheat bran

Improving sustainability by using underutilised products: Could we expand the repertoire of foods we eat?

• Many edible natural products remain underexploited

• Adding these to the food chain could improve food variety, food supply, food accessibility, nutritional status and sustainability

Pictures courtesy of Dr Gordon McDougall, and

www.rocketgardens.co.uk

Underutilised indigenous products

Salal Berries Gaultheria shallon

Honeyberries Lonicera caerulea (Haskaps)

In conclusion..

• Population is increasing and so are chronic diseases

• Principle challenge for the future is to produce food in adequate quantities that also have minimal detrimental effects on health

www.orlando-rising.com; www.familyhealthgroup.com.au; www.foodnavigator-usa.com

Need to adopt a two-pronged approach..

Improving sustainability through using underutilised products

Increasing food availability

-Reducing waste

-Widening food choice

Improving the health attributes of foods

-Replacing synthetics with natural substitutes

-Using natural functional foods for health promotion -Reducing fats, sugars and salts