Shared benefit by Material Flow Cost Accounting in the food supply chain – The case of berry pomace as upcycled by-product of a black currant juice production

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production Vol. 245; p. 118946
• Main Authors: May, Nadine, Guenther, Edeltraud
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2020
• Subjects: anthocyanins; apple pomace; Berry pomace; Black currant juice; black currants; business enterprises; byproducts; carbon dioxide; Carbon footprint; cost effectiveness; dietary fiber; dietary supplements; environmental performance; food waste; fruit growing; fruit juices; functional foods; Germany; global warming potential; health promotion; income; market prices; material flow analysis; Material flow cost accounting; organic foods; polyphenols; production technology; Scenario analysis; seeds; uncertainty analysis; Waste upcycling; Germany; Scenario analysis; Black currant juice; Waste upcycling; Material flow cost accounting; Carbon footprint; Berry pomace
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118946

Berry fruits such as black currants are known to have health-promoting effects as they contain high amounts of phytochemicals (polyphenols, anthocyanins) and dietary fibers concentrated in the peel and seeds. So far, the berry pomace by-product obtained from the production of berry juice is mainly subject to incineration and less recognized by companies as an opportunity to create additional value. Material Flow Cost Accounting is a powerful tool when it comes to the identification of resource inefficiencies in production systems and can provide useful information as an ad-hoc analysis supporting investment decisions, such as the extension of the product portfolio. This study investigates the material efficiency potential of a black currant juice production in Germany while considering potentials for cost reduction, revenue generation, and carbon dioxide mitigation resulting from the avoidance and upcycling of food waste. We used Material Flow Cost Accounting in combination with carbon footprinting and probabilistic scenario analysis to examine the subject. The analysis showed that, in terms of the global warming potential, the environmental performance of the main product, black currant juice, benefits from the upcycling of the pomace to a marketable product. From the economic side, we could not demonstrate a reasonable amortization of the additional investment costs. However, the scenario and uncertainty analysis revealed promising optimization strategies which would lead to an increase in profit of about 13%: first, additional use of apple pomace and second, the production of high-quality, organic pomace to achieve a selling price of at least €2.00/kg as a functional food supplement or in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. •Juice producers can create added value by upcycling berry pomace.•Berry pomace can be used as a functional food supplement.•MFCA can provide useful information for investment decisions.•High-quality products made from berry pomace can increase the revenue.•Replacing macronutrients in bakery products with berry pomace saves carbon dioxide.