Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Waste: Safety and Nutritional Characterisation for Their Potential Re-Use in Livestock Nutrition

Doriana Eurosia Angela Tedesco, Sveva Scarioni, Aldo Tava, Sara Panseri and Antonio Zuorro
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Doriana Eurosia Angela Tedesco: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G.Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Sveva Scarioni: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G.Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Aldo Tava: CREA Research Center for Animal Production and Acquaculture, Viale Piacenza 29, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Sara Panseri: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety “Carlo Cantoni”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy
Antonio Zuorro: Department of Chemical Engineering Materials & Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Euossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-12

Abstract: Compared to other food categories, fruits and vegetables are the most wasted. This leads to the squandering of economic, social, and environmental resources. The reallocation of fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) into animal feed contributes to the sustainability of livestock production, reducing the impact of feed production for land use. In this study, the fruit and vegetable waste from the General Wholesale Market of Milan was considered. FVW samples were collected for one year and were analysed for safety parameters and nutritional, vitamin, and mineral composition. Data showed that dry matter (DM) was on average 10.82 ± 1.21% and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) was on average 22.43 ± 4.52% DM. The presence of soluble sugars (30.51 ± 7.61% DM, on average) was also detected. However, the high moisture content of this waste makes it easily perishable, with detrimental effects on quality, storage, and transportation. A strategy was therefore proposed to reduce the water content of FVW by pressing. Overall, the results highlighted the significant nutritional value of FVW from the wholesale market and the need to develop appropriate technologies to maintain the food chain line safe.

Keywords: fruit vegetable wholesale market; waste; nutritional composition; feed safety; livestock (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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