admin

Plant material, water, and other substances are released by the intestines of cows as part of their feces. It is a useful material that helps us in many ways. It is also a renewable and abundant resource. The waste of manure is regrettable.

It is a rich fertilizer, an efficient fuel, a useful building material, a raw material for paper making, and an insect repellent. Biogas is also produced from cow manure. Bacteria digest organic matter anaerobically to produce biogas.

When biogas is produced from cattle dung, valuable minerals are retained in the concentrated digestate (35% moisture). It makes sense to use concentrated digestate and minerals, does not it? In this respect, it is necessary to find ways to use a waste product from digestate.

An important component of sustainability in the food and agri-food industry is the value-added recycling of food industry waste and side streams, products that have extremely high intrinsic value but are often thrown away because they cannot be further processed to meet consumer expectations. In food waste, by-products and by-streams lie a great opportunity for the development of sustainable food ingredients and products. A great solution to the imbalance between supply and demand and food by-products can be the development of new products or applications to transform them into innovative and healthy products for the industry and/or the end consumer. Galicia (Spain) is a major producer of dairy, wine, and meat products. Therefore, projects related to these sectors should receive special attention.

(Innovation-based entrepreneurship projects interested in participating in this food acceleration programme: https://bffood.gal/en).

Over 14,000 farms are registered in Spain, with laying poultry groups numbering 1,000 farms, with 40,000,000 laying hens. A hen produces one egg per day, which amounts to 40,000,000 eggs per day. Eggs usually weigh 60 grams, including the shell which weighs about 6 grams, or 10%. Accordingly, 240,000,000 grams of the shell is generated daily for the full egg (eggshell + egg product), an extremely valuable by-product that should be managed efficiently.

In order to preserve the planet and preserve our quality of life, eggshells need to be used for sustainability. Shells can be used in a number of ways. Biodegradable packaging, insulation, and even building materials can be made from them. Therefore, finding efficient and sustainable solutions is crucial. Additionally, we could try to find an effective solution for the health sector, contributing to the health of plenty of people.

Only in Spain, there are more than 14.000 registered farms with 14.440.000 kg of chicken droppings being generated per day. It is an extremely valuable resource and one of the finest organic fertilizers available. It is also true that not all chicken farms are able to deal with the abundant residues left by this chicken manure. The trend in chicken farms is that large ones increase and small farms decrease due to low profitability or the high cost of maintaining them. To make farms more competitive and sustainable, it is necessary to find treatments for this by-product.

The problem is that the manure is not recycled, so it starts to pile up. This leads to a lot of flies and an unpleasant smell. The farmers are struggling with this problem because they can’t cope with a large number of chicken droppings and their business is lost. In order to solve this problem, it is better to look for a novel treatment solution for the by-product that can improve the competitiveness and sustainability of chicken farms.

Since the first impression of a product is the most important part of the sale, customers are often put off by unprofessional packaging. Sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging is also not an option when it comes to maintaining an impeccable and professional appearance. Depending on the product, we always have to consider several factors before putting some products into production. Regardless of how good the product’s packaging design is, we need to consider its storage conditions and other important characteristics. Ideally, we want to find a sustainable and affordable nature-based packaging solution for products that need to be stored in the refrigerator. Packaging that is affordable, nature-based, sustainable and reliable.

The supply chain is often plagued by a vast number of problems. There is a disruption of supplies resulting from geopolitical events, an increase in logistics services, and a need to deliver the product on time. We have faced massive shortages of many products and manufacturing materials due to multiple weaknesses in the supply chain system we rely on for almost everything we need. Most often, the delivery of products by different modes of transport, through intermediate terminals, damages the product. It is almost impossible to track order quality from supplier to customer today, which is the biggest uncontrollable factor. A damaged product leaves no trace of how, when, or where delivery conditions were disrupted. This problem must be solved by implementing quality control systems for supplier delivery to the buyer.

Due to the negative environmental and health impacts of non-degradable plastic packaging, many organizations are advocating to drastically reduce plastic production and increase recycling – as well as promote more sustainable food packaging.

If the packaging is made from natural materials, it means it is biodegradable. Plastic is not easily biodegraded, taking hundreds, if not thousands, of years to break down, releasing harmful chemicals. Compostable packaging, such as sustainable paper products, is even available in eco-friendly packaging. Unfortunately, we cannot use paper packaging everywhere because it is disadvantageous and impractical. Current data suggest that paper packaging requires even many times more mass than plastic packaging to perform the same function. For this reason, paper tends to have a greater environmental impact, apart from its carbon footprint.

The packaging industry must respond to the demand for a sustainable, innovative, and practical packaging solution. Only in this way we can continue to support healthy globalization and preserve the well-being and integrity of our planet.

There is a growing awareness of gastrointestinal health and its importance for overall well-being, alongside the increasing food intolerances, allergies, and food-based lifestyle choices. The easy way to maintain and restore health is to consume plant-based and probiotic-rich foods; these are the most effective ways to boost immunity, improve digestion, and support mental well-being. The Fermentful company specializes in this particular sector.

In 2021, a Latvian company started its work in the field of food technology, which produces alternative dairy drinks from fermented green buckwheat, filled with useful life microorganisms. These dairy products undergo a month of validation. But this isn’t enough to distribute products abroad. The shelf life of the products should be increased to 3-6 months while maintaining a clean label and a high microbiological content in order to enter export markets. A smarter packaging solution, a culture optimization process, and a better production process can enhance shelf life and product stability.

It is a complex journey for food from the farm to the consumer’s plate. Food supply chains are interconnected systems that connect the source of food to its final destination. A top priority in building resilience in food supply chains is food traceability. To improve traceability in the production and distribution cycles, food companies need solutions that can track and locate products in real-time. Another factor is agility, which is crucial for the optimization of supply chain processes, including predictive planning and management of inventories.

Food traceability can be improved with comprehensive and customizable product labelling systems that enable comprehensive traceability throughout the entire value chain. Aiming to optimize logistics and inventory management in controlled locations can be especially beneficial.

(Innovation-based entrepreneurship projects interested in participating in this food acceleration programme: https://bffood.gal/en).

While last-mile delivery is a quick and easy way to deliver food, you cannot rely on it to maintain product temperature. It’s no secret that each product has its own storage conditions. Temperature-sensitive products can lose quality and freshness with even minor temperature fluctuations. This can cause some products to lose value and quality. Although self-shipping is time-consuming, expensive and not the most environmentally friendly way of delivery, online sales are an important channel. Therefore, it is necessary to take special care when delivering certain products. Temperature control and monitoring throughout the delivery process is an excellent solution to a situational problem.

Sustainability is a hot topic today, and companies are being forced to find new ways to become more environmentally friendly. Environmentalists and governments are pushing for the elimination of biodegradable plastics and other single-use plastics. Biodegradable packaging must be destroyed at very high temperatures, which is neither practical nor environmentally friendly. In addition, current waste systems are not capable of destroying them. As consumers recycle them with conventional plastics, the plastic that needs to be recycled spoils and must be thrown away. The best way to solve this problem is to find energy-efficient ways to destroy biodegradable packaging.