Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Risk Evaluation of Chemicals Food Safety in Circular Food Systems

Priscila Faiad^* Department of Food Safety, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
^*Correspondence: Priscila Faiad, Department of Food Safety, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, Email:

Received: 04-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. JFPT-22-18947; Editor assigned: 07-Nov-2022, Pre QC No. JFPT-22-18947 (PQ); Reviewed: 21-Nov-2022, QC No. JFPT-22-18947; Revised: 28-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. JFPT-22-18947 (R); Published: 05-Dec-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2157-7110.22.13.964

Description

Government efforts to boost food production yields resulted in the creation of new technology, more automation, and increasing chemical use. Since then, Europe's methods for producing plants and animals have improved greatly, ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food. However, this has had some unfavourable side consequences, including the degradation of the soil and the release of greenhouse gases, which have had an influence on our world. There is a greater demand for sustainability as a result of these adverse effects, the expanding global population, and the resource shortage. Making the production process more circular is one method to get a more sustainable one. Waste is reduced and resources are reused as much as possible in circular agriculture. Closing loops to make our food production system more circular would reduce food waste and help us use natural resources more sustainably. The Green Deal and Farm to Fork policies were established with a green transition toward 2030 in mind by the European Commission. Reusing the waste products from food production, processing, and consumption are a crucial component of the suggested course of action. By-products are by-products produced in the process of producing other items. These by-products should be reintroduced into the food supply chain at the greatest level feasible to prevent waste (human food-animal feed-soil fertilization). Animal feed typically includes by products. These include animal-based goods from the dairy, meat, and fish processing industries, such as whey and milk powder, beef, and pork, as well as plant-based products, or crop leftovers, including skins, peels, seeds, or sugar beet pulp. Whey and milk powder, beef, pork, and poultry fat, fish meal, and fish oil are examples of animal-based products from the dairy, meat, and seafood processing industries. Other examples include peels, seeds, or sugar beet pulp. Reusing waste streams in addition to by products helps to promote circularity in agriculture. Examples include the use of biosolids from urban waste and the use of treated waste water in agriculture, both of which are growing due to their nutritional content, significant economic advantages, and contributions to waste reduction.

Another illustration of methods to improve circularity is the replacement of chemical fertilisers with the use of animal manure. However, such cyclical food production systems come with trade-offs and downsides in addition to their benefits. By-product dangers may accumulate or recirculate in the food chain when they are utilised regularly over an extended period of time or with greater frequency. Pharmaceuticals and personal care items, for instance, release minute amounts of Chemicals of Emergent Concern (CECs) into the environment, but plants may absorb these substances and store them. Following that, these plants are employed as organic fertilisers for agricultural production. In circular food systems, food waste can be recycled by anaerobic digestion or composting. However, these practises may not always eliminate risks to food safety. Anaerobic digestion and composting have little effect on the persistence of organic substances like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and perfluorinated compounds. This might lead to the buildup of these substances in the environment and eventual contamination of finished food items, both of which pose dangers to human health.

Despite supporting the closure of loops in our food production systems, the European Commission green deal and Farm to Fork policy do not include any measures to monitor and guarantee the safety of by-products. However, according to EU Regulation European Commission it is the duty of the food company operator to promote safe goods. Therefore, possible risks to food safety should be considered when employing by products in a food supply chain. The risks to food safety while closing the loops are not well understood. The information on potential risks to food safety and what happens to them in circular agriculture is few and dispersed. This study attempts to give a general overview of potential risks to food safety that might happen when food production system loops are closed. The study's main emphasis was on chemical risks. The use of animal and urban waste as soil supplements in horticulture and agriculture is gaining popularity these days since it makes it possible to improve the soil's quality while also promoting sustainable waste management. Since its usage as fertiliser gives nutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulphur) to the soil and increases soil organic matter, applying organic materials like sewage sludge and animal manure either raw or as compost is a well-known practise across the world (SOM) Agricultural and forest residues, urban residues, wastewater treatment sludge, industrial process residues, and their combinations are classified as organic waste and compost, respectively, by the European Commission. The use of synthetic fertilisers is decreased by using the aforementioned animal and municipal waste.