Approximately one-third of the global food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted somewhere along the food chain. Carrots are one of the most important and widely produced root vegetables grown worldwide; they are rich in many beneficial bioactive compounds such as dietary fiber and carotenoids. Every year, an estimated 29% of processed carrots are lost as waste. The U.S. is the 3rd largest producer of carrots worldwide, 85% of which come from California. During carrot juice processing, up to 50% of the raw material remains as carrot pomace. Carrot pomace may contain up to 55% total dietary fiber, which is thought to have important functional properties such as water holding and fat binding. The objectives of this project were to: 1) Investigate how physical pretreatment and drying treatment affect the functional and chemical properties of carrot pomace, 2) evaluate the impact that carrot pomace as a functional ingredient will have on the physical and chemical properties of beef patties, and 3) validate the developed beef patties using a consumer sensory test to ensure that the products have acceptable sensory attributes. High shearing and hydraulic pressing pretreatments (HSHP) increased the swelling capacity of freeze-dried carrot pomace by 59% and dehydrated carrot pomace by 34%. Freeze-dried carrot pomace also retained 33% more carotenoids compared to dehydrated pomace. The drying method significantly impacted the functional properties of carrot pomace. Freeze drying improved the water holding capacity by 22% and fat binding capacity by 194% over dehydrated carrot pomace. The addition of dried carrot pomace increased the cooking yield and water-holding capacity of beef patties by 5-15% and 12%, respectively, without significantly changing their textural properties or chemical composition. Eighty-six (86) consumers took part in sensory testing to evaluate beef patties formulated with carrot pomace. Overall, there were no significant differences in liking scores between the carrot pomace patties at 1% & 3% and the control patty. Scores were not changed significantly when patties were consumed with a bun. These results suggested that carrot pomaces may be physically modified to be utilized as a functional ingredient in the food industry.

Insects have been proposed as a sustainable alternative to livestock to help feed the growing population. Edible insects such as mealworms require less land and resources and can utilize food by-products to grow. While insects are consumed by over 2 billion people worldwide, they are not widely accepted in developed countries like the United States because of their unfamiliarity and the perception of disgust associated with entomophagy. The objectives of this research are to 1) grow mealworms using carrot pomace and determine an optimum diet for growth and nutritional composition, 2) identify and classify early adopters of insects, and propose a product form, and 3) assess the acceptability of frozen, ready-to-cook mealworms with early adopters. A response surface design was used to evaluate the use of carrot pomace in various percentages in the substrate and as the moisture source in a mealworm growing system. Mealworms were grown under controlled conditions in a climate chamber until they began to pupate, and statistical models were fitted to predict mealworm mortality, weight, days to pupation, protein content, fat content, and moisture content. An algorithm in Design Expert was used to optimize mealworm growth based on maximizing mealworm weight and minimizing mortality and days to pupation, and the optimum diet was found to be 36% carrot pomace in the substrate with carrot pomace as the moisture source. Early adopters of insects were identified through a survey using Red Jade Sensory Software. Participants were segmented using partitioning around medoids clustering algorithm based on responses to questions on willingness to consume insects in a variety of forms. Four segments were identified: No-thank-you’s, Hideaways, Daredevils, and Peekaboo’s. Daredevils, Peekaboo’s, and Hideaways are early adopters of insects in the nonvisible form, and Daredevils and Peekaboo’s are also early adopters of insects in the visible form. Based on these insights, frozen, ready-to-cook mealworms were selected to target Daredevils and Peekaboo’s as a product to serve as a sustainable alternative to traditional livestock protein. Participants from each of the four segments were shown a video of mealworm cooking and asked their willingness to buy the product and the motivation behind their response. The majority of respondents were unwilling to buy this product, driven by unfamiliarity and the perception of disgust. However, over half of Daredevils were willing to buy the product, driven by the novelty and ease of preparation. Marketing a product towards this group may be a feasible route for entry into the market and increase the familiarity of edible insects, thereby contributing to long-term acceptability.

Commercial carrot processors produce up to 175,000 tons of carrot waste annually. Carrot Mash (CM) is the term referring to the waste by-product of peeled baby carrot processing. Transportation of carrot processing waste is expensive due to its high- water content (approx. 83-95%). High in bioactive compounds (carotenoids) and dietary fibers, it is expected that its conversion into a value-added by-product is of interest to the carrot processing industry. Hemicellulose-rich plant materials have proven to be a source of oligosaccharides, which are known for their beneficial prebiotic activity. The objectives of this research were to: 1) determine the effect of mechanical treatments on the extraction of water and bioactive compounds and evaluate the functional properties of carrot mash; 2) incorporate dried carrot mash into a beef patty and evaluate changes in pH, color, cooking yield, and texture; 3) apply an enzymatic treatment to carrot mash to promote the conversion of polysaccharides to oligosaccharides for prebiotic benefits. Mechanical separation of liquid and solid fractions by way of expeller pressing was efficient in extracting liquid while simultaneously increasing total solids by nearly 200%, the extraction of carotenoids by 1000%, and polyphenol content by nearly 97%. Mechanical treatments increased the fat binding capacity on average by 183% compared to untreated mash. The addition of unpressed carrot mash or expeller pressed carrot mash increased the cooking yield of a beef patty by 3-13% without significantly changing its textural properties. Enzymatically treating the carrot mash significantly increased the concentration of oligosaccharides up to 2.3%. These results suggest that carrot processing wastes can be physically and enzymatically modified and have an immense potential to be utilized as a functional ingredient in human food rather than being landfilled, composted or used as animal feed.