Page 51 - FoodFocusThailand No.242 June 2026

SMART PRODUCTION PRODUCTION
SMART

UPCYCLING AGRICULTURAL BY-PRODUCTS

FOR HIGH-VALUE FOOD APPLICATIONS

In the past, many materials left after agricultural and food processing were simply called “waste.” Rice bran,
legume seed coats, fruit peels, oilseed meals, and residues from fish or plant-based industries were often
used as animal feed, discarded, or sold at low value. However, today, these materials are increasingly
recognized as hidden resources that may contain valuable nutrients, functional components, and bioactive
compounds.

Food loss and waste remain a major Revalorization of Agricultural By-Products
global concern. Around one-third of There are several approaches for utilizing agricultural by-products. The simplest
food produced for human consumption approach is direct incorporation after appropriate cleaning, drying, milling, and
is lost or wasted globally, equivalent stabilization. For example, fiber-rich powders from bran, seed coats, or fruit peels
to about 1.3 billion tonnes per year may be added to bakery products, snacks, noodles, beverages, or instant foods.
(FAO, 2011), while food waste from In the case of cereal and legume by-products, such as rice bran, defatted rice
retail, food service, and households bran, mung bean seed coat, and broken mung bean fractions, direct incorporation
was estimated at approximately 1.05 may help improve the dietary fiber content and nutritional value, if flavor, color,
billion tonnes in 2022 (UNEP, 2024). and texture are properly controlled.
These numbers highlight the potential Another approach is the extraction and concentration of valuable components.
opportunity for recovering value from Bioactive compounds such as phenolics, proteins, peptides, oils, polysaccharides,
underutilized materials. and pigments can be extracted from by-products and used as food ingredients.
For example, phenolic-rich extracts may be used as antioxidant ingredients, while
Potential of Agricultural
By-Products
Agricultural by-products are materials
generated during production or
processing that are not the main target
products. Many still contain useful
compounds, such as dietary fiber,
proteins, minerals, phytochemicals,
pigments, or bioactive peptides.
For example, rice bran and defatted
rice bran can be developed into food
ingredients, while legume-processing
fractions may also provide phenolic
compounds. The mung bean seed
coat, an underutilized fraction from
mung bean processing, has been
reported to contain vitexin and
isovitexin, indicating its potential as
a source of bioactive ingredients
(Supasatyankul et al., 2022; Pavasutti
et al., 2023).
As food manufacturers face rising
raw material costs, environmental
concerns, and consumer demand
for healthier and more sustainable
products, agricultural by-products offer
new opportunities for value creation.
Their utilization is therefore not only
about waste reduction, but also about
developing new ingredients, improving
product value, and supporting a more
circular food system.

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