**5. Concepts in waste management and sustainability**

An overview of these concepts is provided in the sections below:

## **5.1 Sustainable production and consumption**

According to the United Nations Environmental Program [25] Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) defines "production and use of goods and

**19**

*Food Waste and Agro By-Products: A Step towards Food Sustainability*

services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations". In this context, the SCP is seen to approach strategy implementing for achieving sustainable development, economy encompassing, environment and society with

Framework of SCP policies includes growth of economy without damaging environment, fulfilling basic human requirements, and avert the rebound effect. SCP illustrate the phenomenon of negative impacts from growing consumption outweigh and the benefits of efficient and improved technologies. It is an integrated approach, involves both the supply and demand (goods and services), by reducing the adverse situation of production and consumption [26]. On the sustainable production side, some examples are prevention from pollution, cleaner production, efficient for ecosystem, and productivity towards greenery [27]. SCP on the consumption side, connects product and the producer with the consumer, allowing more sustainable choices to be made. Some traditional examples are eco-labeling, management in supply chain, minimization in waste, recycling, sustainable pro-

WRAP defines avoidable food waste as food no longer wanted, thrown away. Avoidable food is composed of material that was, edible, at some point prior to disposal, even though a proportion is not edible at the time of disposal due to

Avoidable food waste includes foods or parts of food that are considered edible by the vast majority of people. Unavoidable food waste is described as waste arising from food that is not, and has not been, edible under normal circumstances. This

Sinclair Knight Merz Enviros (SKM Enviros) explains waste prevention are the activities that avoids generation of waste, for instance, food surplus reduction, whereas waste management as shown in **Figure 1**, includes the activities which deals with food

Chemical transformation of product into value added products is the process known as Fermentation which is one of the oldest methods used for product transformation through microorganisms. Fermentation processes are mostly done in three types/methods such as solid state, sub merged and liquid fermentation. Selections of the fermentation process are product specific. To obtained bioactive compounds of industrial interest from various substrates such as wastes, solid state

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is the fermentation procedure in which develop-

ment of microorganisms takes place on solid substrates in the absence of open liquid [30]. It focuses to attain the maximum nutrient attention from the substrate

waste once it has been generated, such as composting and anaerobic digestion.

includes parts of foods such as fruit skin, apple cores and meat bones.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96177*

the use of both social innovation and technologies.

curement and resource efficiency measures [28].

**5.2 Avoidable and unavoidable food waste**

**5.3 Waste prevention and waste management**

and sub-merged fermentation processes are used [29].

**6. Fermentation processes**

**6.1 Solid state fermentation**

deterioration.

#### *Food Waste and Agro By-Products: A Step towards Food Sustainability DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96177*

*Innovation in the Food Sector Through the Valorization of Food and Agro-Food By-Products*

as a priority waste stream, food waste is identified by growing number of policies (national and regional) [21–23]. In high range the food amount wasted in the global food supply chain (FSC) that could have otherwise been used to feed people food security is constantly pressing global issue and raises questions about it [24].

The aim of the waste hierarchy is to recognize the problem and to generate the suitable environment friendly product from the waste. As shown in **Figure 1**, 'prevention' is the most favorable and disposal is the least favorable activity in the waste management 'pyramid'. It has been advised to consider the social and economic impacts as well as the environmental, the waste hierarchy, as a framework, primarily focuses on delivering the best environmental option by the European

Waste Framework Directive (European Parliament Council, 2008).

An overview of these concepts is provided in the sections below:

According to the United Nations Environmental Program [25] Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) defines "production and use of goods and

**5. Concepts in waste management and sustainability**

**5.1 Sustainable production and consumption**

**18**

**4.1 The waste hierarchy**

*Waste prevention and waste management.*

**Figure 1.**

services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations". In this context, the SCP is seen to approach strategy implementing for achieving sustainable development, economy encompassing, environment and society with the use of both social innovation and technologies.

Framework of SCP policies includes growth of economy without damaging environment, fulfilling basic human requirements, and avert the rebound effect. SCP illustrate the phenomenon of negative impacts from growing consumption outweigh and the benefits of efficient and improved technologies. It is an integrated approach, involves both the supply and demand (goods and services), by reducing the adverse situation of production and consumption [26]. On the sustainable production side, some examples are prevention from pollution, cleaner production, efficient for ecosystem, and productivity towards greenery [27]. SCP on the consumption side, connects product and the producer with the consumer, allowing more sustainable choices to be made. Some traditional examples are eco-labeling, management in supply chain, minimization in waste, recycling, sustainable procurement and resource efficiency measures [28].

#### **5.2 Avoidable and unavoidable food waste**

WRAP defines avoidable food waste as food no longer wanted, thrown away. Avoidable food is composed of material that was, edible, at some point prior to disposal, even though a proportion is not edible at the time of disposal due to deterioration.

Avoidable food waste includes foods or parts of food that are considered edible by the vast majority of people. Unavoidable food waste is described as waste arising from food that is not, and has not been, edible under normal circumstances. This includes parts of foods such as fruit skin, apple cores and meat bones.

#### **5.3 Waste prevention and waste management**

Sinclair Knight Merz Enviros (SKM Enviros) explains waste prevention are the activities that avoids generation of waste, for instance, food surplus reduction, whereas waste management as shown in **Figure 1**, includes the activities which deals with food waste once it has been generated, such as composting and anaerobic digestion.

## **6. Fermentation processes**

Chemical transformation of product into value added products is the process known as Fermentation which is one of the oldest methods used for product transformation through microorganisms. Fermentation processes are mostly done in three types/methods such as solid state, sub merged and liquid fermentation. Selections of the fermentation process are product specific. To obtained bioactive compounds of industrial interest from various substrates such as wastes, solid state and sub-merged fermentation processes are used [29].

#### **6.1 Solid state fermentation**

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is the fermentation procedure in which development of microorganisms takes place on solid substrates in the absence of open liquid [30]. It focuses to attain the maximum nutrient attention from the substrate for fermentation by using the microbes such as fungi or bacteria. SSF further classified on the basis of seed culture used for fermentation is pure or mixed. In pure culture SSF, specific strains are used whereas, in with the mixed culture, different types of microorganisms are used for fermentation.
