Every October 16th, we celebrate something that unites us all: food. This year, we also commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), an institution that, since 1945, has worked tirelessly to ensure the right to a dignified life through something as essential as food. Eight decades later, the message of World Food Day continues to call for the collaboration of all of us who are part of the system’s challenges: “Hand in hand for better food and a better future.”
A simple sentence, yet filled with shared responsibility. Because feeding the world in a fair, sustainable, and healthy way is not only the task of major international organizations. It also involves each of us — in every decision we make, in every food we choose, in every process of innovation. Every small contribution matters. That’s why I ask to myself, and we should all ask ourselves: How can I help?
A look toward the great transformation of food
The way we produce, distribute, and consume food defines not only our health but also the planet’s. The recent publication of the EAT–Lancet Commission 2.0 report (2025), presented a few days ago at the Stockholm Food Forum, once again highlights the urgent need for a Great Food Transformation, based on three pillars: health, sustainability, and justice.
The inclusion of the justice pillar is no coincidence. The global context we live in, marked by strong geopolitical instability, rising food prices, the emerging impacts of climate change, and other cascading effects, continues to undermine food security and, consequently, human health. Social injustice is growing, and the resilience of nations is increasingly fragile. Although current food systems have, to a large extent, managed to keep pace with population growth and ensure sufficient caloric intake for many, they remain the main driver of planetary boundary transgression and require joint and urgent action grounded in these three pillars.
The EAT–Lancet report reminds us that the global adoption of healthy diets derived from sustainable food systems would safeguard our planet and improve the health of billions of people. It also warns that, if we fail to act, the world risks falling short of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and other key actions linked to the future of food..
Professor Johan Rockström, one of the study’s authors, summed it up clearly: “The world’s food production threatens climate stability and ecosystem resilience. It is the single greatest driver of environmental degradation” His words resonate strongly on this FAO anniversary, reminding us, as the organization has done for eight decades, that food should not only nourish us but also protect the very land that makes it possible
Source: Twitter Johan Rockström
“The world´s food production threatens climate stability and ecosystem resilience. It is the single greatest driver of environmental degradation”
This call to action is not directed solely at governments or institutions. It speaks to all of us: researchers, producers, companies, and consumers. Because food is not an isolated process; it is a living, interconnected system in which what we decide at one end has consequences at the other.
How can I help?
Remember that every action counts. Ending hunger, preserving our ecosystems, ensuring the food of the future, and understanding the impact this has on the world — it’s a lot, isn’t it?.
It all begins with the choices we make every day. We can choose local and seasonal foods, eat more plant-based meals, drink tap or filtered water, buy only what we need and reduce food waste, use reusable packaging, choose minimally processed foods, value the effort behind every product that reaches our table, and support sustainable farming practices.
Becoming aware means understanding that the food we choose is also a tool for change. It’s in our hands to help build a model where the health of people and the planet are not opposing goals, but two sides of the same coin. When that awareness multiplies, it turns individual action into collective strength.
Seasonal fruits. Source: Freepik
CARTIF: innovation at the service of a fair and sustainable food system
At CARTIF, we firmly believe that science and technology are key allies in achieving this transformation. That’s why we work hand in hand with companies, public administrations, and society to develop technological solutions that address the major food and environmental challenges of our time.
From our Food Area, we focus on the valorization of food and food by-products, promoting the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources.
We are advancing in food industrial processes decarbonization, driving technologies that reduce the environmental impact of new food production. In addition, we are currently an active partner in the Vision4Food EU project, which aims to tackle the challenges associated with food systems through the development of tools and models that help us move from strategy to action within territories.
I can only say thank you for your help! And may every day be a happy World Food Day for everyone.
Do you believe in second opportunities? At CARTIF, we believe in RElife!
Bagasse is the residue left after crushing, pressing, or macerating fruits, seeds, or stems to extract their juice. It’s a very common byproduct in the production of foods and beverages such as wine, beer, and plant-based drinks. We naturally refer to “oat bagasse,” “beer bagasse,” or “grape bagasse,” yet in other similar cases, we use specific names like okara or magaya. Why is this?
The difference lies in the cultural context and historical use. Magaya is a traditional word from northern Spain—especially in Asturias and Galicia—where cider production is part of everyday rural life. Due to its continuous presence and local value, this waste product has earned its own name. The same is true of okara, a term of Japanese origin that refers to the residue left over after making soy milk or tofu, widely used in the traditional cuisine of Japan, Korea, and China. When a waste product has been historically used in food or daily life and has acquired social or economic value, it is common for it to receive a specific name. Naming it is a recognition of its value and usefulness.
Magaya
Residue from pressed apples used to make cider
Okara
Insoluble parts of soybeans that remain after filtering soybean mash during the production of soy drinks or tofu
There are other examples of food by-products with their own names that reflect this tradition of use: pomace, the solid residue left over from grape pressing and used to distill spirits; middlings, the product of sifting flour and used in animal feed; brine, the liquid left over from cheesemaking or pickling, rich in salts and nutrients; molasses, a thick by-product of sugarcane or beet refining that can be used for fermentation or animal feed; or whey, a protein-rich liquid left over from cheesemaking and transformed into beverages or supplements. These names may sound strange, but they all have one thing in common: they are by-products, the “leftovers” after making something… and they still have a lot to offer.
CARTIF researcher at the food laboratory making tests with meat products.
Giving leftovers or waste a second life or a second chance is called valorization. It’s about turning what seemed like an end into a new beginning. It’s about reincorporating them into the value chain so they can have life again, a Revival. At CARTIF, we like RE: the Challenges of innovation, the Rewards of the food industry, the Recirculation of resources, and the Revalorization of waste. Because, for us, throwing away is not an option. And not only because the new Law on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste has been in force since this year, but because innovating solutions to return this value to the food chain itself has been in our DNA for 30 years.
From meat processing waste, we obtain high-value ingredients such as heparin, functional fats, and proteins. From magaya, we extract natural pectins for food and cosmetic applications. With okara, we develop protein-rich, healthy, and sustainable snacks. And what’s left of all that? We also reclaim it: we transform it into biostimulants for agricultural soils. And then, when we’ve exhausted all other options? We continue to use it to produce biogas, hydrogen, and syngas, generating energy and thus closing the loop.
At CARTIF, we believe that waste isn’t trash, but rather resources waiting for a second chance. Through innovation, science, and collaboration with industry, we’re demonstrating that a more circular model is possible. Will you join the Revalorizar challenge and help us give this “waste” a proper name?
I’ll start by adapting a saying: “One man’s by-product is another man’s treasure.” That is, we can use the waste generated during the production stages of the industry—in this case, the agri-food industry—in a wide variety of ways and with a multitude of applications in different areas.
And how is this done? Well, in our case, we extract (or at least try to) various components of meat byproducts, such as proteins, by applying a series of “tricks” in the laboratory.
To put things in context, let’s first give a brief introduction to proteins. They have a series of properties, such as their structure, that we can use to our advantage to extract them from the matrix in which they are found. As you know, the basic organization of proteins is a “skeleton” of amino acids, known as the primary structure, which, depending on its combination, results in one protein or another. However, apart from this basic organization, we will also have other, slightly more complex aspects: the folding and three-dimensional structure of that chain of amino acids, known as secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures. This spatial organization is what allows proteins to perform their multiple functions, because it gives rise to the physicochemical interactions between them and other components, applicable from the cellular level to the component level within a food.
Source: Instagram @ifas_publication
Once the theoretical framework is introduced, we can delve deeper into the practical part, which is more entertaining, or so they say. If we change some condition in the laboratory of our protein of interest, such as temperature or pH, we can disturb it enough for it to denature. When a protein denatures, it loses its three-dimensional structure, sometimes in a more dramatic way and, therefore, irreversible. Thus, we can extract them and uncouple them from the rest of the components because we have altered the established chemical bonds.
One way to denature proteins is to change their pH values as desired. By changing the pH of the sample containing proteins, we change the interactions between them and the medium, altering their structure and behavior, for example, affecting their solubility. First, we change the pH, causing them to leave the sample and solubilize in water. Once they are removed from the rest of the sample, we change the pH again, causing them to no longer have charges available to interact with water and precipitate. Finally, by shaking them, we isolate them from the rest of the components of our raw material to obtain a protein concentrate.
And now it’s time to get creative, because after the intricate laboratory process, we move on to the kitchen! These proteins we’ve obtained can be used, for example, as a dietary supplement or as an ingredient in food. This opens the door to endless possibilities, but without forgetting the most important thing: we reduce industrial waste, eliminating byproducts and enabling product development and improvement, because, as they say, nothing goes to waste here!
And that, among many other things, is what we do at CARTIF, we try to use the byproducts of the agri-food industry as widely as possible to reduce the waste it creates, while always supporting a healthy diet.
When we see a pig, we all tend to think that every part of it can be used: its delicious hams, pork cracklings, chorizo, loins…..including, as the saying goes “even its walk”. However, at CARTIF we know there ir more beyond that: a great variety of by-products and waste generated during the stages prior to the production of all these products.
A similar situation occurs in the sheep sector. Is not only about milk, used for cheese, or meat, such as suckling lamb, but many types of waste also appear throughout the processing stages, such as skins, viscera, or blood, whose treatment entails, apart from its environmental impact, an additional cost for companies.
The cattle sector, in turn, shares common challenges with the previous ones, facing the management of a long list of waste products such as manure, slurry, blood, bones, viscera, and skins, among others.
In the current context where sustainability and circular economy principles are gaining increasing relevance in industrial processes, waste recovery in the meat industry emerges as a key strategy to optimize resources and reduce environmental impact. The activities of the sheep, pig and cattle sectors (which together account for up to 75% of national meat production) offer enormous potential for the full utilization of their waste. In short, we can talk not only about excellent products (milk, cheese, chorizos or hams), but also about good practices by meat companies, closing the production cycle by generating added value through waste recovery. In most cases, these type of waste are managed by external handlers, representing an additional cost for producers. For this reason, all by-products generated in the meat industry require efficient management and call for innovative ideas to turn them into valuable products.
Source:
An analysis of the meat production process, according to Nedgia, estimates that a cow produces 50kg of manure per day, which amounts approximately 18,250kg/year (1). When the cow arrives at the slaughterhouse, approximately 40 to 50% of its weight consists of by-products, such as bones, blood, hide, víscera, inedible fat and rumen content, all of which must be properly managed.In addition to this, processing a cow at the slaughterhouse may require between 500 and 1,000 liters of water (2), which subsequently becomes a wastewater stream that also needs to be treated.
Approximately 40 to 50% of a cow weight consists of by-products
On the other hand, animal hides are already valorized in the textile and footwear industries, but currently, their demand has decreased compared to other fabrics and synthetic leathers. Therefore, efforts are being made to find alternative applications for their utilization. From hides, as well as from bones and cartilage, collagen can be extracted- a product highly sought after by the cosmetics industry due to its many health benefits. Collagen helps create a protective barrier on our skin against external agents, provides firmness and resilience, promotes wound healing, delays the effects of aging and reduce wrinkles, among other benefits (3). Moreover, its use is associated with improvements in the treatment of common diseases such as osteoporosis, arthritis and osteoarhtritis.
According to the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AEND), from the age of 25, collagen production in a healthy person begins to decline, and it is estimated that by the age of 40, the body produces only half as much collagen as it did during adolescence, with this decrease becoming more pronounced in women after menopause (4). Moreover, one of the reasons why our bones weaken is due to the lack of collagen in the body (5). Many of us remember seeing our grandmothers boiling cow bones to extract collagen, straining the broth for consumption; when refrigerated, this broth would turn into a gelatin rich in collagen. Today, it is possible to replicate this process in the laboratory to obtain concentrated collagen as a nutritional supplement, which requires a purification process that presents various challenges related to obtaining pure collagen, free of fats and other proteins.
Illustration of young skin layers and components
Illustration showing layers and components of aged skin
Regarding blood, this fraction represents approximately 3–7% of the live weight of the animal, depending on the species, and has traditionally been used in the production of food products (such as blood sausages and others). However, it is also possible to use it for obtaining food colorants or for the extraction of hemoglobin and/or protein that can be incorporated into various products for human or animal consumption. Once the blood has been collected and treated, plasma can be separated from hemoglobin, or the entire fraction can be dried to obtain a protein-rich product.
Another meat by-product is the intestines of animals, which are currently used in the production of sausages such as salchichón, blood sausage, chorizo, and regular sausages, among others. However, the utilization of this fraction (and its associated economic value) remains quite limited. For many years, it has been known that intestines are a rich source of heparin, a highly demanded medication worldwide due to its clinical use as an anticoagulant. The process of obtaining highly pure and stable heparin requires a lengthy preparation and laboratory treatment. Numerous challenges must be overcome during its extraction, such as selecting the most appropriate extraction and purification methods. In addition to using resins, there are other methods that allow heparin to be isolated from other compounds (proteins and other contaminants). Furthermore, it is essential to ensure the stability of the active ingredient, which involves evaluating whether it should be kept in solution or subjected to a drying process.
The valorization of waste from the meat industry is surrounded by many uncertainties, but in this sea of questions, CARTIF emerges, with its researchers studying and developing new processes for the treatment of these by-products, generating new knowledge and finding viable and sustainable technological solutions to these challenges, thereby offering added value to the meat industry.
CARTIF is firmly committed to this line of research, supporting companies in the meat sector in valorizing all their waste, including slurry, for transformation into various products — whether food, energy (such as renewable gases), or even agronomic products (such as organic fertilizers).
As we have seen, it is not only the pig from which everything can be used — even, as the saying goes, “its very walk.”
Co-author.
Pedro Acebes. Researcher at Agrifood and Processes Division
Informe trimestral de indicadores económicos marzo 2025. Sector vacuno de carne. Ministerio de Agricultura, pesca y alimentación. Gobierno de España.
Área de precios. Informe semanal de coyuntura. Precios Coyunturales. Semana 5-2025 del 27 de enero al 2 de febrero. Subsecretaría Subdirección general de análisis, coordinación y estadística.
Plan territorial de Ordenación de residuos de Tenerife. Residuos de mataderos, decomisos, subproductos cárnicos y animales muestras.
Universidad Nacional del Nordeste Comunicaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas 2003. Cedrés, José F.
Four years ago I first entered the complex world of the food system. I didn´t quite know what to expect. I considered it a far field, with technical terms and debates that seemed to belong only to experts in the field. Today, after all this time, every time I have the opportunity to walk around one of the FUSILLI cities and see the changes we have helped to bring about, I feel a sense of pride that is hard to describe.
There is no need to stop. Changes are recognisable with new initiatives underway, a market where local producers with their local and seasonal products are the main characters, hearing how citizens have started to talk about sustainable food naturally, or a community garden flourishing in a previously unused space. There are small signs that confirm that something has changed. That this effort has been worthwhile
FUSILLI cities
I don´t have to travel to the FUSILLI cities to remember the project. It is enough to walk around Valladolid to remember that what we have done over the years is visible and important in many other cities. The boost of local food. That is FUSILLI. The emergence of a food strategy. That is FUSILLI. The use of food waste. That is FUSILLI. The awareness of cities towards healthier and more sustainable food. That is FUSILLI. The initiatives of food companies to bring local producers closer together. That is FUSILLI. Initiatives to make food more accesible to the whole population. That is FUSILLI. Even FUSILLI is to bring all of this into policies that help to integrate all of this into a community. In a city. In a region.
At the beginning, it all seemed like a huge challenge. Twelve cities with different realities, hundreds of actions, multiple actors involved. Coordinating efforts and making each initiative make sense in its context was a challenge. But, in the end, the key has been people. The cooperation between scientists, local governments, farmers and consumers created a learning network that overcame the initial barriers. The most beautiful thing about FUSILLI has been that unexpected synergy, those human connections that made possible what on paper seemed impossible.
It was not all easy. I remember endless meetings trying to fit together different perspectives, moments of frustration when progress was not as fast as we wanted, and the uncertainty of knowing whether all this would leave a real footprint. But the footprint is there. The results are not only measured in numbers, but in the transformation of cities and people’s mindsets.
Personally, I believe that for CARTIF, FUSILLI has meant much more than a European project. It has allowed us to grow, to better understand the role we can play in transforming food systems and, above all, to strengthen our commitment to sustainability. The food system defines the well-being of our communities and the balance of our environment. It is not just about what we eat, but how we produce, distribute and manage that food in an increasingly challenging world.
Moreover, this experience provides a valuable lesson for the private sector. Companies have a key role to play in this transformation. Adapting business models to a more sustainable approach is not only an environmental necessity, but also an opportunity for innovation and differentiation. The solutions developed at FUSILLI can be replicated and scaled up at the business level, from waste recovery to new forms of distribution and conscious consumption. It is not only the responsibility of cities and governments, but also of companies that have the power to lead change in the food value chain. They are key players in this process.
FUSILLI closes a cycle, but leaves many doors open. We now know that transformation is possible and that every action, however small it may seem, adds up. It has taught us that innovation and sustainability can go hand in hand and that real change happens when vision and commitment come together.
We will continue to pursue new solutions, explore innovative ways to integrate technology with sustainability and facilitate the transition to more resilient and healthy cities. But we cannot walk this path alone. Food companies are key partners in this transformation. We need their commitment, their capacity for innovation and their willingness to be part of the change. Because transforming the food system is not just a challenge, it is an opportunity to reinvent the way we live, produce and consume.
Because transformation is not a destination, but a continuous journey of learning, adaptation and innovation.
Every time I walk past the supermarket shelf and see it, I can´t help but smile. At CARTIF, we are incredibly proud to share with you that the result of the KOMFIBRA project has made its way to the market. Once again, a product developed by CARTIF has become a reality and is now available for everyone to enjoy. This achievement was made possible thanks to the collaborative efforts with our friends at KOMVIDA.
The product? Kombucha enriched with fiber- a fermented tea containing probiotics and prebiotics, with a refreshing lime-lemon flvaor and light natural bubbles, unpasteurized. A healthy and delicious drink that everyone is talking about.
What was our challenge?
This project has been a true scientific and technological challenge, but every step along the way brought us closer to our goal: creating a functional product that is healthy, innovative and accessible to all.
During the first phase, we evaluated various types of fiber based on their solubility and their ability to preserve the sensory characteristics or original kombucha. We also consducted multiple tests to determine the best time to add the fiber during the production process to ensure its stability and flavor.
In the second phase, it was time to move from the laboratory to the industrial plant. The result? A drink with perfect bubbles, a delicious flavor, and a natural sewwtness enhanced by the added fiber, making it even more enjoyable.
Finally, the clinical study. We wanted this kombucha to taste great, but we also needed to confirm its health benefits. In a study with 60 healthy volunteers, we observed:
A reduction in blood triglyceride levels compared to the control group.
An increase in beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, essential for a healthy hut microbiota.
A decrease in a microorganism associated with intestinal issues.
Kombucha, a product for everyone
The best part? This kombucha is proof that innovation and great taste can go hand in hand. We´ve ensured it´s safe, well-tolerated, and has exceeded consumer satisfaction expectations during the study.
We want to thank KOMVIDA for trusting in CARTIF´s innovation and for the amazing teamwork that brought this challenge to the shelves, Seeing, touching, and tasting the result of our work is an incredible source of pride.
Try it!
Komvida Fibra is more than just a drink; it´s an ally for your well-being. It´s already available on the market, and we´re confident you´ll love it as much as we do.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of this excting journey!
