Development of cosmeceutical functional ingredients from fresh produce waste

在加拿大，近一半的食物供应被浪费，利用新鲜农产品废料来创造新的经济机会的潜力尚未开发。全球化妆品行业的估值约为3800亿美元，年增长率为4.5%。新斯科舍省的Outcast Foods Inc.将零售、农民和农业食品企业的新鲜农产品废料和剩余物回收利用，并将它们转化为全植物粉末和脱水产品。与Outcast Foods合作，我们计划从新鲜农产品废料中开发新的化妆品功能成分，供加拿大和全球市场使用。主要的挑战是开发对消费者和环境友好的工艺，从新鲜农产品废弃物中提取高价值的生物活性物质，同时避免潜在的霉菌毒素污染。拟议研究的具体目标是：(I)开发前处理程序，以降低潜在霉菌毒素污染的风险；(2)优化绿色提取工艺，生产富含类黄酮类和类胡萝卜素的产品；为提取物开发一种新的包埋工艺，并对所得新成分的物理化学性质进行表征；以及(Iv)评估适合在化妆品中使用的生物特性的新成分。建议的实验方法包括开发经济和可持续的霉菌毒素去污工艺，有毒的无溶剂生物活性提取物，以及增强生物功效的胶囊。预期的结果将是建立先进的、可扩展的新型宇宙学功能成分的制造工艺。预计该项目将通过创造新的农业食品附加值产品，促进减少食物浪费和环境保护，从而促进加拿大农业食品工业的可持续性。

In Canada, nearly half of the food supply is wasted, and an untapped potential exists for upcycling fresh produce waste to generate new economic opportunities. The global cosmetic industry is valued at about $380 billion and is growing by an annual growth rate of 4.5%. Outcast Foods Inc of Nova Scotia upcycle fresh produce waste and surplus from retail, farmers, and agri-food business and convert them into whole plant powders and dehydrated products. Partnering with Outcast Foods, we propose to develop new cosmeceutical functional ingredients from fresh produce waste for the Canadian and global markets. The major challenges are to develop consumer- and environment-friendly processes to extract high-value bioactives from fresh produce waste while avoiding potential mycotoxin contaminants. The specific objectives of the proposed research are to: (i.) develop pre-treatment processes to reduce the risk of potential mycotoxin contaminants; (ii.) optimize a green extraction process to produce flavonoid- and carotenoid-rich products; (iii.) develop a novel encapsulation process for the extracts and characterize physio-chemical properties of resultant novel ingredients; and (iv.) assess the novel ingredients for biological properties desirable to use in cosmeceuticals. The proposed experimental approaches include the development of economic and sustainable processes for mycotoxin decontamination, toxic solvent-free bioactive extractions, and bioefficacy-enhancing encapsulation. The expected outcome will be the establishment of advanced and scalable manufacturing processes for novel cosmeceutical functional ingredients. It is anticipated that the project would contribute to the sustainability of the Canadian agri-food industry through the creation of new agri-food value-added products, contributing to food waste reduction and environmental protection.