Current perspectives on sustainable technologies for effective valorization of industrial meat waste: Opening the door to a greener future

Food waste poses a significant threat by disrupting the global economy and negatively affecting the environment by contributing to higher emissions, water wastage, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity. Worldwide, a significant amount of food waste is generated throughout the entire process chain, from raw material to final product, with a substantial portion originating from the meat industry. Recently, the notable rise in meat production has inevitably resulted in a higher volume of waste generation. Meat-derived residues should be effectively utilized due to their diversity, organic content, and contribution to increasing the carbon footprint. Meat waste can be transformed into numerous high-value alternative products for further utilization in various industrial sectors. The application of green technologies has become a critical approach in recent years to ensure sustainable production by converting such waste into valuable components. As a part of this approach, various technologies, such as enzymatic hydrolysis, ultrasound-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, instant catapult steam explosion, and ohmic heating come to the forefront. In the current chapter, the potential applications of green technologies in converting by-products and co-products obtained during meat processing into value-added products are compiled and analyzed from the perspective of sustainability.