Utilisation and Management of Agriculture and Food Processing Waste

Abstract

Agriculture and food industries are very close to each other. Food industries are usually divided into two forms: Food manufacturing and food processing units. The food industries mostly depend on the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector fulfils the primary requirements of food industries by providing raw materials in the form of fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. Agriculture and food processing wastes are the end products of various food processing industries that have not been recycled or used for other purposes. They are the non-product flows of raw materials whose economic values are less than the cost of collection and recovery for reuse and therefore discarded as wastes. Recycling and eventual utilisation of food processing residues offer potential of turning these by-products to beneficial uses rather than discharging these to the environment which cause detrimental environmental effects. The food industry produces large volumes of wastes, both solids and liquid, resulting from the production, preparation and consumption of food. These wastes pose increasing disposal and potential severe pollution problems and represent a loss of valuable biomass and nutrients. Besides their pollution and hazard aspects, in many es, food processing wastes might have a potential for conversion into useful products of higher value as by-product, or even as raw material for other industries, or for use as food or feed after biological treatment. The composition of wastes emerging from food processing factories is extremely varied and depends on both the nature of the product and the production technique employed. The present studies focused on how waste materials of agriculture and food processing industries can be utilised and manage appropriately.