Valorization of the major agrifood industrial by-products and waste from Central Macedonia (Greece) for the recovery of compounds for food applications

Highlight
• Central Macedonia generates olive oil, wine and rice by-products and waste.
• Valorization of agrifood by-products and waste for edible purposes is challenging.
• Olive by-products reuse for fungal β-carotene production and bioactive phenol recovery.
• Wine lees and grape seeds reuse for squalene and bioactive phenols extraction.
• Rice hull valorization for the recovery of bioactive phenols

Food by-products and waste valorisation practices have gained much attention lately as a means of a sustainable management, which can concomitantly increase the profit for local economies. So far, these materials constitute an underexploited source for the recovery/production of compounds for food applications and other needs of the food chain (energy production, feeds). To highlight new trends and show the potential for regional economies the present contribution focuses on Central Macedonia, the largest Greek region with significant agro-industrial activities, such as olive oil, wine and rice production, that generate different types and quantities of by-products and waste. Proposals for the exploitation of selective streams using chemical and biotechnological tools for the recovery/production of compounds of high interest for the food industry are critically discussed. Know-how developed by academia and research institutions in the Central Macedonia should be examined by the respective stakeholders in order to contribute to the zero-waste society target set by European Union till 2025.