Valorization of industrial by-products: Development of active coatings to reduce food losses

An active coating based on soy protein, obtained as by-product from soy oil production, was used to extend the shelf-life of beef patties. On the one hand, the use of industrial by-products contributes to valorize by-products by preparing value added products. On the other hand, the extension of food shelf-life contributes to the reduction of food looses and could allow the use of lower amounts of packaging, reducing plastic waste. With this regard, some physicochemical and textural parameters of beef patties were analyzed in this study. The incorporation of the soy protein-based coating delayed food oxidation, prevented moisture loss and improved textural parameters of beef patties. Since the appearance and texture of food are very relevant aspects when purchasing food products, the improvement of these quality attributes showed in this study highlights the potential of using active coatings, such as the soy protein-based coatings analyzed in this work. In particular, their use would bring social benefits such as shelf-life extension and thus, reduction of food losses, but also the possibility of reducing the amount of packaging used to preserve food and the environmental and economical benefits associated with this reduction of packaging.