Waste

Tackling the issue of waste requires a focus on the key areas such as:

• waste production ─ minimising contamination; improving shelf life; better packaging, material design and agricultural practices; and new manufacturing paradigms
• energy conservation ─ improved efficiency in production and finding multiple use of crops and waste streams
• waste of nutrition ─ understanding the impact of nutrition on human health; providing the optimum and most bio-accessible nutritional load in our food; optimising and modifying nutritional values through improved plant and animal production; and having a better understanding of consumer behaviours and preferences
• water resources ─ optimising use of water in food production by planning for drought and floods; having plants and animals that can cope with the extremes; designing new processes and ingredient mixes that require minimal water usage; and manufacturing plants which recycle/re-use waste water

Current and future research areas

Key research areas focus on:

• primary processing ─ optimising raw material production
• secondary processing ─ the integration of factory design for energy, water and waste minimisation
• tertiary processing  ─ the fate of food during digestion for optimal nutrient delivery and impact on human health
• enabling technologies

This multidisciplinary research covers issues such as:

• improved process capabilities
• water usage for purification and efficient use of water
• energy delivery from waste streams in current manufacturing practices
• food safety and spoilage
• consumer understanding to minimise waste 

Developing solutions

New ideas and practises must be given the opportunity to succeed in order to produce the environmental benefits which will provide food security for the future. Success in this area will involve:

• uptake of new ideas in developed societies
• the implementation of infrastructure in developing ones
• addressing wasteful practices of manufacturing operations and consumer excess and expectation

Research expertise at The University of Nottingham ideally places us to tackle issues surrounding waste and food security. This includes:

• utilising new materials
• shelf-life extension of fruit and vegetables
• biomaterial processing
• multiple use of crops/waste streams
• modification of processing and digestibility of plant cell walls
• knowledge of consumer preferences and sensory science
• modification of nutritional value of foods
• novel processes to minimise water requirements
• breeding for drought resistance