Food Industries and

Environmental Management
FST 31209

Hasintha Wijesekara
Ph.D. in Environmental Remediation (Newcastle, Australia)
M.Phil. in Environmental Science (UPDN)
B.Sc. (Special) in Environmental Sciences and Natural
Resources Management (SUSL)
Diploma in Human Rights (UPDN)
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 1
 Course description
The course describes environmental
problems related to food industries and the
options of food waste utilization. It also
covers topics on wastewater treatment, solid
waste management.
Further this course provides knowledge on
carbon footprint, water footprint, ecological
footprint and introduce concepts of
sustainable production and consumption,
energy conservation and related concepts
such as lifecycle assessment and eco
labeling.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 2

 Course contents
Module 1: Environmental problems in the food industries

Module 2: Food waste and their utilization

Module 3: Waste management in the food industries

• Solid and wastewater treatment methods

Module 4: Environmental assessment and management in

the food industries
• Water footprints, carbon footprints, life cycle
assessment, eco labeling
• Concepts of cleaner production
• Environmental management systems (EMS)
• Environmental compliance
• Energy management in food industry
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 3
Course structure
• Lecture: Face to face on campus 2 hour(s) per week for
full term – Now we are in a new normal situation !!

• Individual assignment – Identify, assess and mitigate an

environmental related issue/s or challenge/s of any food
industry in your area – 20% mark is allocated

• Final written examination – 80% mark is allocated

• No quizzes and a mid-semester exam

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 4

 Week 1: Intended Learning
Outcomes (ILOs)
• ILO1 explain environmental problems
related to food industries and suggest
measures to utilize food waste

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 5

 • A credit consists 50 notional learning hours, this means you should
spend 35 hours self learning to complete a credit

• Annually, 1500 notional learning hours for an undergraduate degree

programme (Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework 2016)
(https://www.ugc.ac.lk/attachments/1156_Sinhala%20Tranlation%20of%20SLQF_Web%20copy.pdf )

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 6

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 7
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• “Economic Development
integrates concerns about the
people of region and the
environment that many
depend upon for their
livelihoods.”

• Economic
sustainability requires
the responsible use of
resources!!!!
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 8
Sustainable development from a business
perspective is defined as
‘meeting the needs of the business without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’
Brundtland (1987).

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 9

Industrial Development………Are we responsible?

Kelani River pollution by oil leakage

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 10

 Industrial Development………
Are we responsible?

Rathupaswala, Sri Lanka

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 11

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
- AT MEETHOTAMULLA

kANDY

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=javxk1TPrDk

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 13

 Challenges in Food Industry…..
Operating in an ethical
and an environmentally
responsible manner and
Use of Resources, energy, satisfying the requirements
water etc. of the consumers and
3. Environmental retailers.
Health

FOOD
INDUSTRY
1. Maintain 2.Health and
profitability in the safety
face of
of the
competition
consumer.
• Product diversification
• Quality improvement
• New technology • Health problems
• Consumer acceptability
• Reduce wastage of
• Market survivability
raw materials, energy • Loss of profits
& cost
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 14
• Food processing Industries and
environmental aspects

• Types of waste generated from food

processing industries and waste
management

• Concepts of pollution prevention and

waste minimization

•WeekWater quality
1_7 Aug 2020
and wastewater treatment 15
 Key resources used by the food-
processing industry
• Water
• Raw materials
• Energy

Water- Used in large quantities.

- an ingredient
- an initial and intermediate cleaning source
- an efficient transportation conveyor of raw materials
- the principal agent used in sanitizing plant machinery
and areas

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 16

 The key environmental issues
related to the food industry
Wastewater

Primary issues of concern are;

- Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
- Total suspended solids (TSS)
- Excessive nutrient loading (nitrogen and phosphorus
compounds)
- Pathogenic organisms, which are a result of animal processing
- Residual chlorine and pesticide levels.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 17

 The key environmental issues
related to the food industry
Solid Waste

Organic and packaging waste.

Organic waste -the rinds, seeds, skin, and bones

from raw materials, results from processing
operations.
Inorganic wastes- excessive packaging items
(glass, and metal)
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 18
 Particulate matter in food industry
• Grain-loading, unloading and milling &
packaging
• Spices-nutmeg, cloves, cardomen, cinnamon
• Flour industry, biscuit manufacturing, bread
making
• Fish industry -sprat and dry fish
• Coffee, tea, cocoa industries

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 19

 Problems:
• Health impacts such as breathing
problems
• Environmental effects due to dust particles
in the air
• Production loss

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 20

Main sectors of Food processing

-Fruits and vegetables

-Meat, poultry, and seafood
-Beverage and bottling
-Dairy operations.
-Cereals and grains

• Most of these sectors consume huge amount of water for

processing food.
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 21
 Fruit and Vegetable Food-
Processing Sector
The primary steps in processing fruits and
vegetables include:

1.General cleaning and dirt removal

2. Removal of leaves, skin, and seeds
3. Blanching
4. Washing and cooling
5. Packaging
6. Cleanup

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 22

 Waste characteristics
Wastewater-
- high in suspended solids
- organic sugars and starches
- may contain residual pesticides.

Solid wastes- include organic materials from mechanical

preparation processes
- Rinds
- Seeds
- skins from raw materials

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 23

 Meat, Poultry, and Seafood
Sector
The primary steps in
processing livestock
include:

1. Bleeding
2. skin removal
3. Internal organ
evisceration
4. Washing, chilling, and
cooling
5. Packaging
6. Cleanup
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 24
 Waste characteristics
Waste streams vary per facility, but generally contain:

- process wastewaters
- carcasses and skeleton waste
- rejected or unsatisfactory animals
- fats, oils, and greases (FOG)
- animal feces
- blood; and eviscerated organs

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 25

 Beverages
• Non-alcoholic beverages- soft drink syrup
manufacture; water bottling; fruit juices bottling, canning
and boxing; the coffee industry and the tea industry.

• Alcoholic beverage - distilled spirits, wine and

brewing

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 26

 Soft drink bottling or
manufacturing
1. treating water
2. compounding ingredients
3. carbonating product
4. filling product
5. packaging

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 27

 Waste
- Accidental release of a hazardous chemical -anhydrous
ammonia or chlorine

- Wastewater.

- Occasionally a bad batch of product has to be discarded.

Discharge of large quantities of acidic beverages -
changes of water pH in receiving water.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 28

 Beverage and Fermentation
Sector
The primary steps in processing beverages are

1. Raw material handling and processing

2. Mixing, fermentation, and/or cooking
3. Cooling
4. Bottling and packaging
5. Cleanup

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 29

 Waste characteristics
Solid wastes- result from spent grains and
materials used in the fermentation process.

Wastewater- higher in BOD and overall

wastewater volume compared to other food-
processing sectors.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 30

 Dairy Sector
Wastewater-
easily degradable carbohydrates
(lactose); biodegradable proteins and
lipids
Ex: cheese processing wastewater- (98%
of total COD is accounted for lactose,
lactate, protein and fat)

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 31

 FOOD WASTES & THEIR UTILISATION

• Food processing wastes -

Recycling, reprocessing and eventual utilization of food

processing residues
–economic returns and environmental health

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 32

 Environmental impacts
• Cheese production - 9 kg of whey for every 1 kg of
cheese.

• High BOD (35-40 g/l). (mainly due to the lactose)

• Large factories- whey is utilised and converted to

valuable products
• Small factories- no byproducts, release to env.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 33

 Meat industry
• Animal by-products
Inedible material consists of heads, feet, offal,
bone, hair, blood and feathers. (40% of the total
weight)

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 34

- High in protein and nitrogen content

- An excellent sources for fish feed and pet food.

- Skeleton remains from meat processing – bone

meal, an excellent source of phosphorus for
fertilizers.

- FOG waste (typically from industrial fisheries)- is

used as a base raw material in the cosmetics
industry.

- skins-leather industry.
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 35
 Fruits and vegetables:
Large amounts of fruit and vegetable processing wastes are
produced from packing plants, canneries, etc.

Disposed in several ways

- landfill

- drying to a stable condition (10 % moisture) in order

to use as animal feed during out of season-
expensive due to drying cost

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 36

Fermentation:
• Fruit and vegetables waste -have a significant proportion
of fermentable sugars.
Ex. oranges, carrots, apple, pineapple, mango

Products: Vinegar, citric acid, acetic acid, ethanol

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 37

 Fruits and vegetables:

FUNCTIONAL COMPOUNDS

• Rapidly growing interest in the role of plant secondary

metabolites in food and their potential effects on human
health.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 38

 Citrus by-products:

Citrus-juice processing
- (residual peels, membranes,
seeds, and other compounds)

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 39

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 40
• Fiber-pectins - from lime peels and are characterized by
high fiber contents.

• Flavonoids -
Citrus seeds and peels -were found to possess high
antioxidant activity. (health-protecting effects of certain
citrus flavonoids.) hesperidin, narirutin, naringin and
eriocitrin.

• Colouring material -a potential source of natural

clouding agents, which are in great demand by soft
drinks industry
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 41
Several valorisation strategies have been reported for citrus peel waste.
• Pectin extraction by acid hydrolysis
• Pectic enzyme production
• Dietary fibre extraction
• Methane (biogas) production
• Fermentation substrate for single-cell protein production
• Bio-ethanol production by a variety of microorganisms
• Succinic acid production.
• D-Limonene production (mainly used as a flavour and fragrance
compound)

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 42

 Mango
The major wastes of mango
processing are peels and seeds,
amounting to 35–60% of the total
fruit weight.

• Mango seed kernel- edible oil ,

natural antioxidants. ( phenolic
compounds- ellagic acids, and
gallates.)

• Mango peels - good source of

dietary fibber containing high
amounts of extractable
polyphenols.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 43

 Pineapple
• The pulpy waste material -sucrose, starch and hemicellulose
- ethanol production.

• Proteolytic enzyme bromelain may also be recovered from the

mature fruit.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 44

 Banana
• Peels constitute up to 30% of the ripe fruit.

• Banana waste - biotechnological production of protein, ethanol, α-

amylase, hemicellulases and cellulases.

• Anthocyanin pigments in banana -potential application as natural

food colorants.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 45

 Papaya
Papain- proteolytic
enzyme used as a
meat tenderiser and
as a stabilizing agent
in the brewing
industry

seed oil - low in

polyunsaturated fatty
acids,

Defatted papaya seed

meal - high amounts of
crude protein (40%)
and crude fibber (50%).

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 46

 Guava

Peel and
pulp of
Seeds- usually
guava fruits
discarded during - source of
processing of juice antioxidant s
and pulp, contain & dietary
about 5–13% oil rich fibber
in essential fatty
acids.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 47

 Passion fruit
• The waste resulting from passion fruit processing
consists of more than 75% of the raw material.

Rind - constitutes 90% of the

waste and is a source of pectin
(20% of the dry weight).

seed oil-rich in linoleic

acid (65%)

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 48

 Disposal of food waste in
landfill
- Costly
- large environmental impact: direct and indirect emission
of GHG (CH4 and CO2).
- soil, air and water pollution
- Energy recovery through incineration is not always
feasible, typically due to the energy loss to evaporate the
large water content in FW

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 49

 calcium phosphate hydrogel,
a type of fast proton
conductor.

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 50

Week 1: Take home messages
• Sustainability requires the responsible use of
resources, modern industries need to focus green
concepts
• A number of environmental issues are associated with
the food industries
• These environmental issues cause problems, such as
health impacts, environmental pollution,
production/profit/reputation lost
• Food industry derived waste shows different
characteristics
• Economically valuable materials can be extracted and
utilize from food waste
Week 1_7 Aug 2020 51
References
• Sustainable Food Processing, Brijesh K. Tiwari,
Tomas Norton & Nicholas M. Holden Print
ISBN:9780470672235 |Online
ISBN:9781118634301
|DOI:10.1002/9781118634301,
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 52

 Acknowledgement
Professor Chandramali Jayawardana,
Department of Natural Resources,
Faculty of Applied Sciences,
Sabaragamuwa University

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 53

 Contact:
Dr. Hasintha Wijesekara
Email: wijesekara@appsc.sab.ac.lk
wijesekara84@gmail.com
Mobile phone: 071 493 24 71
Google
Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qSFsmycAAAAJ&hl=en
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hasintha_Wijesekara
Staff Profile: http://www.sab.ac.lk/staff-directory/351

Thank you

Week 1_7 Aug 2020 54