Potential assessment of waste produced through the agro-industrial processing in Brazil

Abstract

The food industries are responsible for generating tons of waste compounds such as peels, seeds, pips and pulp depending on the type of fruit to be processed, causing serious environmental problems due to the production of organic waste. This study aimed to gather information related to the development of Brazilian agribusiness, which has been growing according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), reversing a decline in its agro-industrial sector in 2010. The generation of agro-industrial waste is found in several stages of the production chain, with an estimate that the use of vegetable raw materials does not exceed about 85% and that the waste can reach 30%. Brazil is in third place in the world rank in production in the food sector. The reuse of waste generated by the agricultural industry is today one of the largest centers of investments, even in countries with high technological development as France and the United States, and has been the subject of several studies which contributes to the accumulation of information about its great potential and their nutritional values. This food waste has essential nutrients, which may help to combat various degenerative diseases, improving human health. Regular consumption of fruit in food causes the smooth functioning of the body, due to the presence of bioactive compounds, however it is important to increase the studies for the use of these by-products which will help to add value to industrial biotechnology. This work presents a literature review of scientific papers published in the last 25 years, using as a means to query the various databases: Scielo, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and others.