Extraction and improvement of protein functionality using steam explosion pretreatment: advances, challenges, and perspectives.

Protein has become an increasingly valuable food component with high global demand. Consequently, unconventional sources, such as industrial and agroindustrial wastes and by-products, emerge as interesting alternatives to meet this demand, considering the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the transition to a circular economy. In this context, this work presents a review of the use of Steam Explosion (SE), a green technique that can be employed as a pretreatment for various waste materials, including bones, hide/leather, feathers, and wool, aimming the extraction of protein compounds, such as low molecular weight biopeptides, gelatin, and keratin, as well as to enhance the protein functionality of grains and meals.

Whey filtration: a review of products, application, and pretreatment with transglutaminase enzyme.

In the cheese industry, whey, which is rich in lactose and proteins, is underutilized, causing adverse environmental impacts. The fractionation of its components, typically carried out through filtration membranes, faces operational challenges such as membrane fouling, significant protein loss during the process, and extended operating times. These challenges require attention and specific methods for optimization and to increase efficiency.

Gelatin films from wastes: A review of production, characterization, and application trends in food preservation and agriculture.

Gelatin is the product resulting from collagen denaturation, which, in addition to conventional sources of extraction, can be recovered from wastes and byproducts rich in collagen widely generated by the industrial activities of poultry and cattle slaughterhouses and the fishing industry. Given the properties of good film-forming ability, nontoxicity, and biocompatibility for the addition of other compounds to obtain composite materials, gelatin is a potential polymer for the production of biodegradable films and, if extracted from waste sources, can contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution and positively impact several of the Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations Organization. The gelatins extracted from porcine, poultry, and fish skins and untanned bovine hide wastes, or by-products can be used for the production of packaging films or edible coatings, while chromium-tanned leather wastes can be applied with mulching films in agriculture aiming at greater crop yield for food production.

Whey-based polymeric films for food packaging applications: a review of recent trends.

The food industry is always looking for new strategies to extend the shelf life of food. In recent years, the focus has been on edible films and coatings. These play an essential role in the quality, safety, transport, storage, and display of a wide variety of fresh and processed foods and contribute to environmental sustainability.

Harvesting of Spirulina platensis using an eco-friendly fungal bioflocculant produced from agro-industrial by-products.

This study aimed to produce fungal biomass from agro-industrial by-products for later use as a bioflocculant in the Spirulina harvesting. The production of fungal biomass from Aspergillus niger was carried out in submerged fermentation, using media composed of wheat bran and/or potato peel. Fungal biomass was used as a bioflocculant in Spirulina cultures carried out in closed 5 L reactors and 180 L open raceway pond operated in batch and semi-continuous processes, respectively.