The aim of this study was to analyze the stability of sensory properties and secondary metabolites in supercritical-CO 2 (scCO 2 ) dried ‘Elstar’ apple cuts/snacks during twelve months of storage at ‘room’ temperature. Air-drying and freeze-drying were used as reference methods. ScCO 2 -dried apple packed in aluminum-polyethylene bags under nitrogen gas retained a high sensory and nutritional quality, and acceptance level until the end of the observed period. The overall acceptance scores of these apples after 6 and 12 months of storage remained in the range of neutral consumer attitude “neither like nor dislike”. Packaging under nitrogen gas preserved the content of flavonols (≥0.14 g/kg), dihydrochalcones (≥0.10 g/kg), hydroxycinnamic acids (≥0.18 g/kg), triterpenes (≥5.72 g/kg), and proanthocyanidins (≥0.08 g/kg) in dried apple irrespective of the drying method applied. The comparison with the conventional drying processes demonstrated that scCO 2 -drying represents a promising alternative technology for the production of dried apple snacks. The study was assisted by the evaluation of consumer attitudes towards dried fruit and drying technologies. Freeze-drying, air-drying and scCO 2 -drying were recognized by the tested consumers as trustful drying-processes, with expressed interests in buying scCO 2 -dried products if the technology was scientifically proven as excellent in preserving nutrients, color and taste of food products.

The food value chain system in Sweden is well established making it hard for small companies to develop new products and even harder to create new food supply systems Obstacles could lay at the beginning of the chain (food production or processing), at the end (marketing, consumer) or could even be related to the legislative regulation framing the food supply chain. Smaller actors often lack resources and networks to develop their sector. However, their degree of creativity, innovativeness, and engagement is high, and their energy is needed in the development of new sustainable food value chains.

The aim of this project was to develop and apply a methodology for evaluating food value chains, focusing on profitable small-scale production systems in Sweden that show potential for fast development of new products that quickly reach the market. The work also included identifying Swedish raw food materials with growth potential and to identify how they could come into greater demand. Ten food value chains with high development potential in Sweden and for export were mapped and the main bottlenecks briefly described. Three food chains where selected based on a potential-difficulty-benefit matrix. The three selected food value chains were: (i) Hops, (ii) Swedish forest berries, and (iii) Land-based fish farming. These three food value chains where further studied looking at the whole value chain, from production to end consumer. Through literature review and contacts with relevant stakeholders (telephone interview, face-to-face interview, or workshop) the bottlenecks were clarified and potential solutions for increased demand where identified.

Swedish hops production is carried out by passionate and engaged smaller actors, mostly on a hobby level, and the hops is used as an ingredient for beer. Germany and the USA produce about 75% of the worldwide production These hops varieties are not adapted to the Swedish climate and therefore result in a low volume and poor quality. However, domestic varieties have been grown in the past giving better yield under Swedish climate conditions. More work is needed to characterize the quality of Swedish hops. At the present time, knowledge about the characteristics of Swedish hops is low, explaining the lack of interest from brewers. In Sweden most hops are harvested by hand, making it nearly impossible to be profitable on the market. The mechanization of the harvesting step is necessary to move Swedish hops from a hobby to a commercial activity. No solutions are available on the Swedish market, RISE together with SLU is looking to develop a hops harvester fulfilling Swedish and EU regulations and adapted to small scale cultivation. At the end of the value chain, innovative products could increase the need for Swedish hops, for example by developing beers brewed with fresh hops. Moreover, hops have antiseptic characteristics and could potentially be used in other food products than beer.

Only about four percent of the berries that are produced by the Swedish forests every year are picked. The largest volumes picked are for bilberry (Swedish: blåbär), lingonberry, and cloudberry and most of them are washed and frozen in Sweden. Processing of berries, however, has to a large extent moved out of the country while the products produced for the Swedish market are quite traditional, low-processed foods such as jams, juices and dessert soups. The majority of the Swedish berries mainly bilberries due to their nutritional content are exported and are further processed into value added powders or extracts in Asia and Europe. In Sweden this kind of value chain is under developed largely due to knowledge barriers and to the currently very traditional market. However, there is a great consumer interest in berries and they have a perceived healthiness also in Sweden. Consumers are also increasingly aware of the origin of berries used as ingredients in products such as jams, purees and juice, as well as in health food products. To fill this gap between consumer interest/demand and raw materials available new businesses can be developed. To facilitate such development there is a need for knowledge generation and transfer along the whole value chain (picking, processing, product development and consumer studies), which can be generated by starting up new innovation and research projects. It is also of importance to facilitate networking, for example in the ‘berry network’ (coordinated by RISE), as the creation of a new value chain will require different businesses to cooperate. Also, product development projects will need support for testing, pilot production, and possibly in finding investment funding for new equipment.

Land-based fish farming is small in comparison to traditional fish farming in Sweden, but several actors see a great potential in this system which has a lower impact on the environment compared to conventional fish farms. For instance, the Swedish farmer federation (LRF) has invested in a land-based fish farm recently. As in other EU-countries, the number of active farms in Sweden is decreasing and some see the potential to recycle unused animal stables into fish farms. A major bottleneck for land-based fish farming is current legislation as it is based on conventional fish farming and therefore does not consider the environmental benefits of land-based systems. Knowledge should be spread to relevant authorities and policy makers to open a dialog and facilitate the development of a relevant regulatory framework. Regarding the production phase, access to sustainably produced feed and technical competence are lacking. Moreover, as the technology is costly learning through trial and error would not be recommended. A testbed dedicated to land-based fish farming could support companies who wish to try modifications to their system. Furthermore, smaller producers have difficulties in finding processing solutions for their products; e.g. slaughterhouses and conditioning. Two potential solutions would be to develop a land-based fish farm cooperative and/or mobile systems that could take care of smaller productions. Finally, the competition on the market is tough as land-based fishes are competing with large-scale conventional fish farms from Norway and Asia. To overcome this bottleneck, the sector could develop its own certification as well as increasing the consumers awareness and knowledge.

Some conclusions could be applied to all the studied food chains. For instance, each value chain can be seen as a puzzle with many pieces. In order to develop new food value chains many separate pieces need to fall into place. Therefore, it is necessary to increase collaboration between stakeholders but also to have a stakeholder driven coordination of this collaboration. The stakeholders within the developing value chains often do not have all the resources to carry out this task, especially if they are small businesses. The development of cooperatives also seems to be a solution to overcome bottlenecks in the studied food chains. Likewise, logistics in the developing value chains have a great margin for improvement. Furthermore, this project focused on value chains where food commodities are the end product but investigating the potential for non-food uses would also be of interest.

The method used in this project can be replicated to other value chains with potential of development. It would help the users to get a holistic view of the current bottlenecks and facilitate contact between stakeholders. The list of bottlenecks can be followed up and used as an indicator to evaluate if the value chain in moving forward.

Svensk livsmedelsproduktion är väl etablerad och gör det svårt för små företag att utveckla nya produkter och ännu hårdare att skapa nya livsmedelsvärdekedjor. Flaskhalsar kan uppstå i början av värdekedjan (primärled och förädlingsprocesser), i andra änden (marknad, konsumenter), eller kan relateras till regelverk som genomsyrar hela kedjan. Små aktörer saknar ofta resurser och nätverk att utveckla sitt område. De har emellertid hög kreativitet, stor innovationsrikedom och ett stort engagemang, vilket krävs för att utveckla hållbara livsmedelsvärdekedjor.

Projektets mål var att utveckla och applicera en metodik för att utvärdera livsmedelsvärdekedjor med fokus på lönsamhet för svensk, småskalig produktion samt att bidra till en ökad utvecklingstakt. Arbetet innebar även att identifiera livsmedelsråvaror med potential för tillväxt och att identifiera hur dess efterfrågan kan ökas. Projektet kartlade livsmedelsvärdekedjor med hög utvecklingspotential inom Sverige och för export. Tio livsmedelsvärdekedjor identifierades och de huvudsakliga flaskhalsarna i kedjan beskrevs översiktligt. Tre livsmedelsvärdekedjor valdes ut baserat på en potential-svårighets-möjlighets-matris. De valda livsmedelskedjorna var: (i) Humle, (ii) Svenska skogsbär, och (iii) Landbaserad fiskodling. Dessa tre livsmedelsvärdekedjor studerades i detalj med hela värdekedjan inkluderad, från produktion till slutkonsument. Genom litteraturstudier och kontakt med relevanta aktörer (telefonintervjuer, face-to-face-intervjuer eller workshop) bekräftades flaskhalsarna och möjliga lösningar för ökad efterfrågan identifierades.

Svensk humleproduktion bedrivs med stor passion och stort engagemang av små aktörer, mestadels på hobbynivå. Humlen produceras för att användas som ingrediens i öl. Tyskland och USA står för ca 75 % av världens humleproduktion. Många av dessa humlesorter är inte anpassade för svenskt klimat, vilket resulterar i låga skördevolymer och otillräcklig kvalitet. Inhemska sorter som traditionellt odlats i Sverige ger bättre skördenivåer i svenska klimatförhållanden och tidig mognad. Det finns en efterfrågan på svensk humle hos bryggerier, men på grund av att kvaliteten hos de svenska sorterna är ojämn och bristfälligt karakteriserad med avseende på aromer och beska, vill bryggerierna inte köpa råvaran. I Sverige skördas den mesta humlen för hand, ett tidsödande arbete som gör det i princip omöjligt att uppnå lönsamhet i produktionen. En mekanisering av skörden är nödvändig för att svensk humleproduktion ska ta steget från hobby till kommersiell produktion. Inga kommersiella lösningar finns ännu tillgängliga, RISE kommer i samarbete med SLU utveckla en skördemaskin som uppfyller EU-standard och är anpassad för småskalig humleodling. Ett nytänkande i värdekedjans senare del, såsom att utnyttja humlens aromatiska egenskaper i sitt färska tillstånd, skulle kunna öka efterfrågan på svensk humle. Humle har dessutom antiseptiska egenskaper som skulle kunna utnyttjas för fler produkter än öl.

Endast fyra procent av bären som växer i svenska skogar plockas varje år. Till de bär som plockas mest hör blåbär, lingon och hjortron. De flesta rensas och fryses ner i Sverige. Förädling av bären har däremot flyttat utomlands och de produkter som tillverkas i Sverige är traditionella, lågprocessade sylter, juicer och krämer. Majoriteten av svenska bär mestadels blåbär för sitt nutritionella värde, exporteras och förädlas vidare till pulver eller extrakt i Asien och Europa. Den typen av värdekedja har inte etablerats i Sverige på grund av bristande kunskap samt en än så länge traditionell marknad. Dock finns ett stort konsumentintresse i bär då de även här anses ha positiva hälsoeffekter. Konsumenter är även mer medvetna om bärens ursprung i produkter som sylt, puré och juice samt kosttillskott. Intresset och efterfrågan av bär som råvara kan bemötas med nya affärsmöjligheter. Denna utveckling skulle underlättas genom att generera och sprida kunskap genom hela värdekedjan (plockning, förädling, produktutveckling och konsumenter), och kan genereras med hjälp av nya innovationer och forskningsprojekt. Det är också viktigt att stödja nätverkande, som i till exempel ”Bärnätverket” (koordinerat av RISE), eftersom nya värdekedjor kräver nya samarbeten i affärsutvecklingen. Även produktutvecklingen behöver stöd i form av produktion i pilotskala och möjligen investeringsstöd för ny utrustning.

Landbaserad fiskodling är liten i jämförelse med traditionell odling av fisk i Sverige, men flera aktörer ser stor potential med landbaserade system som generellt ger lägre miljöpåverkan än fiskodlingar i sjöar och hav. Exempelvis Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund (LRF) har nyligen investerat i en landbaserad fiskodling. Likt andra EU-medlemsländer har antalet aktiva lantbruksföretag i Sverige minskat, varav några ser en möjlighet att konvertera övergivna djurstallar till bassänger för fiskodling. Den huvudsakliga flaskhalsen i utvecklingen av landbaserad fiskodling består i det regelverk som måste följas, men som utgår från traditionell fiskodling. Det innebär att regelverket inte tar hänsyn till de miljöfördelar som ses med landbaserad fiskodling. Det behövs en öppen dialog och kunskap måste spridas till berörda makthavare och beslutsfattare för att anpassa regelverket. I produktionsfasen finns behov av ett miljömässigt hållbart foder samt ökad teknisk kunskap. Tekniken är kostsam vilket gör det svårt att lära sig genom misslyckade försök till fiskodling i pilotskala. En testbädd anpassad för landbaserad fiskodling kan stödja företag som vill utveckla eller förändra sitt system. Små producenter har svårt att hitta praktiska lösningar för deras produktion, t.ex. vad gäller slakt och filétering. Två möjliga lösningar är att bilda ett kooperativ och/eller mobila system som riktar sig till små producenter. Konkurrensen på marknaden är hård eftersom landbaserad fisk konkurrerar med storskaliga fiskodlingar i Norge och Asien. Problemet kan lösas med en särskild märkning och certifiering samt genom att öka konsumenternas medvetenhet och kunskap.

Några av dessa lösningar kan användas till samtliga studerade livsmedelsvärdekedjor. Värdekedjorna kan ses som ett pussel med många bitar där alla bitar måste falla på rätt plats för att en utveckling ska ske. Därför är det nödvändigt att öka samarbetet mellan aktörer, men också att ha en drivande aktör som koordinerar samarbetet. Aktörerna inom värdekedjan har ofta inte kapacitet att driva det arbetet, särskilt inte små aktörer. Kooperativ ser ut att vara en möjlig lösning för de studerade livsmedelsvärdekedjorna. Likaså kan logistiken i värdekedjorna förbättras. Det här projektet fokuserade på värdekedjor där slutprodukten utgörs av ett livsmedel, men att undersöka möjligheten att skapa andra typer av produkter kan vara värdefullt.

Metodiken som användes i det här projektet kan användas för andra värdekedjor med potential att utvecklas. Det skulle hjälpa aktörerna att få en tydlig bild över förekommande flaskhalsar och underlätta kontakten mellan aktörer. Listan över flaskhalsar kan följas upp och användas som indikator för att utvärdera om utvecklingen av värdekedjan går åt rätt håll.

The Life Cycle Assessment methodology often applies a product perspective but can be used to assess novel production technologies by comparing novel products with a baseline product, as long as the functional unit of the product is considered to be the same. There is increasing environmental concerns in society and pressures on industry to take into account their impact on the environment. Tools are available for this, but not tools adapted to specific industry needs. The reasons to use LCA are foremost to guide the development towards the most sustainable solutions and to evaluate the market potential from an environmental perspective. Challenges arise when applying LCA in early development stages, e.g. getting access to recent development data, to increase commitment and incentives to take early LCA results into consideration, to present results in an attractive way etc. LCA calculations must also keep up with the sometimes rapid development. In order to meet these challenges interactive report software have been introduced to industrial partners (non-LCA experts) in an EU project called FutureFood (Grant agreement no: 635759). The project goal is to develop a new processing technology for foods (CO₂ drying). In order to meet the LCA related challenges a platform has been used that is developed by PRé Consultants (Pre, 2016?), called Share and Collect. It allows LCA experts to develop tools for non-experts so that users are able to alter parameters in the LCA model and assess the result of the changes. It is done by providing the industrial partners with an intuitive web based graphical user interface (GUI). When a user changes input data in the GUI, parameter values also change in the model, an LCA calculation engine runs the model and the GUI presents the corresponding results. In the project a tool for assessing the processing technology has been developed and the industrial partners  are provided rights to access the tools and create ‘what if’ scenarios. Examples of changes are change of electricity production, transport distances, transport types or modes, raw material source, packaging, production resource or energy efficiency etc. The tool has been evaluated by the non-LCA expert industrial partners, and the first review results show that it is user friendly, visually appealing and interesting in its interactive way because of the instant feedback of results. Tailored models such as the ones developed in the project have the potential to support knowledge based decisions in innovation projects in companies.

Around 1/3 of edible food produced is wasted and when converted into calories this losscorresponds to 1/4 of the nutritional energy from food. Reducing food waste is a “triplewin” activity: as it saves money since less resources are needed, as less waste is equal tothe opportunity to feed more people in the future, and furthermore reduced wastedecreases the pressure on climate, water, and land resources. The need to reduce foodwaste is also a part sustainability goals (SDG12.3). The success in reducing food waste ishighly dependent on an effective communication across the supply chain since the truecause of food waste many times is found in other parts of the supply chain than it where itactually happens. Such circumstances are particularly challenging in global food chainsin particular food chains starting in developing countries ending in high income countriesdue to the geographic distance and the involvement of many actors.The aim of this project, coordinated by the “SIANI” Expert group on food wastepreventions strategies in global food chains” was to gather current knowledge andexperience, as well as best practice on how to manage food chains starting in developingcountries ending in high income countries with focus on vegetables and fresh fruits. Thiswas done by taking a multi-stakeholder perspective, by a survey and a workshop, toidentify knowledge gaps and opportunities:The specific questions raised in the project were:• How can our way of managing global food chains support the farmer in lowincome countries?• How can best practice in high income countries (e.g. Sweden) decrease the foodwaste of imported food by e.g. appropriate labelling, appropriate businessmodels, consumer information etc.?• How can best practice in our (Swedish) food chains be transferred to low incomecountries, improving the local food chain to the benefits of the local actors? Sinceglobal and local food markets are communicating vessels the hypothesis is that awell-functioning local food chain will lead to less overall food waste and moreincome to the farmers.The gap analysis shows that there are large knowledge gaps on how the supply chainsfunction, how much food is wasted and the causes of the food waste. The survey carriedout also shows that there is a demand for political action, and resources are needed inorder to make a change:

− To facilitate and enable actions directed towards minimising food waste,recourses are needed for: education and training, technology implementation,better infrastructure and communication in the food system. This is importantwhen trading with developing countries and poor farmers with low educationalbackground.− The transparency, particularly in long supply chains, is problematic asinformation seems to be lost the longer the chain is; this is especially challengingwhen working with developing countries where the knowledge gap and theability to be a strong partner compared to the large industries and retailers ischallenging. Other aspects of transparency that needs to be addressed is thesharing information on e.g. campaigns, and other activities having an influenceon the demand along the food supply chain.− The survey shows that there is much knowledge in place that is not shared alongthe supply chain. Round table discussions and knowledge sharing within different sectors may be a first step in making use of current know-how, and to set up anagenda on needs and how to collaborate− To facilitate and enable actions directed toward minimising food waste, recoursesare needed for: education and training of all those in the early stages of the supplychain, technology implementation, better infrastructure and communication in thefood system. This is important when trading with developing countries and poorfarmers with low educational background.

Much research is ongoing relating to sustainable food production without considering theresearch question being central for reducing food waste. Food waste research still suffersfrom that it is a quite new research area that is under development. Research focus onglobal food chains is currently focusing on quantification of food waste, impact ofinformation activities and awareness raising activities and is focused on the situation inhigh income countries. Addressing food waste in global food chains as defined in thisreport shows that research adapted to the needs in the local food chains in developingcountries are needed. For example how can a farmer make use of IT in a simple way(almost every farmer has a mobile phone), are there packing solution that can be usedtropical fruits so that a desired even quality can be delivered, how to handle the waste thatstill happens in the best way (feed, new product, biogas etc.) and how to take care of theinedible parts (leaves, stems, peels etc.). Process technologies suitable for small scaleapplications, e.g. by processing fruits having a low quality it can be preserved and sold asexported as processed fruit instead of being unsold or sold to the local market to a muchlower price.The Swedish resource base and research network could contribute to more sustainableand fair food chains with less waste by sharing their knowledge and take actionsaccording to:• Swedish Universities and Institutes could take a role in educating students andhosting visiting researchers to cover the knowledge gaps.• NGOs could take the important role as facilitators and educators in developingcountries on site.• The actors in the food supply chain can advance their position by dialogue,collaboration and information sharing; also, by hosting trainees from developingcountries learning Swedish best practice and serve as food “waste ambassadors”when they return back home.• Researcher and innovators could contribute to technology development,particularly simple, robust technological solutions to be used in developingcountries.• The key is however that Swedish actors we collaborate (researchers, innovators,food processors, retailers, authorities and policy makers) and share ourknowledge and experience in an organised way.

The actual practical solutions for reducing food waste need to build on the collectedexperience and the knowledge carried by the actors in the supply chains and theresearchers working with problems relating to food from different perspectives. Abottom-up approach is needed being supported by appropriate policy intervention.Finally, although the field is hampered by the unclear ownership of the question and lackof collaboration, there is always a” working window” for each actor in the supply chainwhere improvements can take place right now. Numerous of examples and ideas areprovided in the report and its annex.

The drying process is largely used in many different industrial applications, such as treatment of foods, production of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing of paper, wood and building materials, polymers and so on. Physical and mathematical models can constitute useful tools to establish the influence of the main process variables on the final product quality, in order to apply an effective production control. In this work, simulation model was developed to describe combined convective/microwave assisted drying. In particular, a multi-physics approach was applied to take into account heat and two mass balances (for liquid water and for water vapor) and Maxwell's equations to describe electromagnetic field propagation. Potato matrix was selected as food material; a waveguide with a rectangular cross section, equipped with a hot air circulator device, was used as microwave applicator. The proposed model was found able to describe the process, being thus a useful tool for design and management of the process itself.

A small-scale microwave convective dryer was built to study the effects of microwave power level, air temperature, and air velocity on drying kinetics, temperature development, and specific energy consumption (MJ/ kg evaporated water) using statistical designs. Increased microwave power had a large significant effect on moisture loss and temperature development and it reduced specific energy consumption. Increased air temperature and air velocity increased specific energy consumption, as their effect on drying kinetics was smaller in the system used. Low air temperature slowed the drying process, without affecting the relationship between average sample temperature and average moisture content during drying.