RESUMO
Waste generated from the agro-food industry represents a concerning environmental, social and economic issue. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines food waste as all food that decreases in quantity or quality to the extent that it is thrown out by food service providers and consumers. The FAO reports that 17% of worldwide food production may be wasted. Food waste may include fresh products, food close to the expiration date discarded by retailers and food products from household kitchens and eating establishments. However, food waste offers different possibilities to extract functional ingredients from different sources, such as dairy, cereals, fruits, vegetables, fibers, oils, dye and bioactive compounds. The optimization of agro-food waste as an ingredient will help in the development and innovation of food products to generate functional food and beverages to prevent and treat several diseases in consumers.
RESUMO
There are two types of milk whey obtained from cheese manufacture: sweet and acid. It retains around 55% of the nutrients of the milk. Milk whey is considered as a waste, creating a critical pollution problem, because 9 L of whey are produced from every 10 L of milk. Some treatments such as hydrolysis by chemical, fermentation process, enzymatic action, and green technologies (ultrasound and thermal treatment) are successful in obtaining peptides from protein whey. Milk whey peptides possess excellent functional properties such as antihypertensive, antiviral, anticancer, immunity, and antioxidant, with benefits in the cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, immune, and nervous system. This review presents an update of the applications of milk whey hydrolysates as a high value-added peptide based on their functional properties.