Sustainable utilization of waste and by-products from the meat industry

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to summarise existing scientific literature on waste and by-products from the meat industry and suggest how the meat industry can use it in order to reduce environmental damage, increase food availability and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report is a literature study were several databases were used. In 2018, 340 millions tons of meat were produced and 23% were wasted in Europe throughout the different steps along the production line of food, which includes from field to fork. 64% of all waste occurred at the consumption stage, 19% - at the manufacturing stage, 11% - in primary production and post-harvest and 5% - at the distribution stage. There are many reasons that waste occur and the reason differs depending on the stage. Meat production and consumption have increased in recent years. A reduction of meat waste in the meat industry leads to economical growth and better environment because it reduces the release of greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane and meat by-products with high pollutant characteristics. Meat waste and by-products include trimmings, cuttings, bones, collagen, carcasses, skins, fatty tissues, hoofs, internal organs and blood. All of these are rich source of proteins, bioactive compounds, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Therefore they have a potential to be further used. Bioactive peptides often have health-promoting effects such as antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antitumor activities when ingested or absorbed. Bioactive peptides can help to prevent many diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease which are among the most common diseases at the moment. Waste and by-products can be used in many ways. Some of them are already being used, for example, trimmings in hotdog production, but others are not. Enzymatic hydrolysis can be used to generate hydrolyzates and certain bioactive peptides from larger proteins, and the hydrolyzates can be used as dietary supplements or can be incorporated to increase the protein content of food. Bioactive peptides can be isolated from the hydrolyzates and used as functional food components, dietary supplements or medicines. However, more research is needed.