Article
Carbon Footprint in Vegeburger Production Technology Using a
Prototype Forming and Breading Device
Magdalena Wróbel-J˛edrzejewska
1,
* , Joanna Markowska
1
, Agata Bie ´nczak
2
, Paweł Wo´zniak
2
,
Łukasz Ignasiak
2
, El
˙
zbieta Polak
1
, Katarzyna Kozłowicz
3
and Renata Ró
˙
zyło
4
Citation: Wróbel-J˛edrzejewska, M.;
Markowska, J.; Bie´nczak, A.;
Wo´zniak, P.; Ignasiak, Ł.; Polak, E.;
Kozłowicz, K.; Ró
˙
zyło, R. Carbon
Footprint in Vegeburger Production
Technology Using a Prototype
Forming and Breading Device.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9093. https://
doi.org/10.3390/su13169093
Academic Editor: Paolo Renna
Received: 13 July 2021
Accepted: 10 August 2021
Published: 13 August 2021
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4.0/).
1
Institute of Agriculture and Food Biotechnology—State Research Institute, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland;
joanna.markowska@ibprs.pl (J.M.); elzbieta.polak@ibprs.pl (E.P.)
2
Łukasiewicz Research Network—Industrial Institute of Agricultural Engineering, 60-963 Poznan, Poland;
agata.bienczak@pimr.lukasiewicz.gov.pl (A.B.); pawel.wozniak@pimr.lukasiewicz.gov.pl (P.W.);
lukasz.ignasiak@pimr.lukasiewicz.gov.pl (Ł.I.)
3
Department of Biological Basis of Food and Feed Technology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin,
20-950 Lublin, Poland; katarzyna.kozlowicz@up.lublin.pl
4
Department of Food Engineering and Machines, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland;
renata.rozylo@up.lublin.pl
* Correspondence: magdalena.jedrzejewska@ibprs.pl
Abstract:
The aim of the research was to develop a laboratory test stand for forming vegeburgers
and to determine the carbon footprint of vegeburger production technology with the addition of
frozen vegetable outgrades. This vegetable material is waste from frozen food production. During
the research, unique recipes for vegeburgers fabricated of vegetable outgrades, potatoes, fiber, potato
flour, salt and spices were also developed. The physicochemical properties, texture and color of vege-
burgers were determined. The CO
2
to kWh conversion factor, with a value of
0.765 kg CO
2
·kWh
−1
was used to calculate the carbon footprint. Vegeburgers obtained during the study were charac-
terized by protein content ranging from 2.05 to 2.29 g 100 g
−1
, carbohydrate content from 7.27 to
10.36 g
100 g
−1
, fiber content ranging from 3.97 to 4.92 g 100 g
−1
and fat content was at the level of
0.20–0.24 g 100 g
−1
. The amount of sodium did not exceed 1 g 100 g
−1
. The amount of disqualifying
nutrients (fat, trans fat, saturated fat and cholesterol) was significantly lower compared to similar
products on the market. The conducted analyses showed that the highest CO
2
emission occurred
during the blanching process. The proportion of this process for small productions (2.0 kg) ranged
from 62% to 68%. The process of vegeburger formation had the second largest percentage in emis-
sions and accounts for 22% to 24% for small productions (2.0 kg). The total carbon footprint was
1.09–1.13 kg CO
2
/kg
of product, respectively, i.e., about 0.10–0.12 kg CO
2
per one vegeburger. The
research demonstrated that the process of producing vegeburgers from vegetable outgrades is a
low-emission process compared with other agri-food technologies. Considering the above, this study
allows for improvement of the management of waste from frozen food production, and is also the
basis for the development of low-emission agri-food technologies.
Keywords: carbon footprint; vegeburger; vegetable outgrades; low-emission production
1. Introduction
Changes in lifestyle, the variety and general availability of goods on the market,
competitive prices and attractiveness of commercial offers resulted in significant changes in
the consumption behavior of society in recent years. We consume excessively, ineffectively
and at an increasing pace not only food, but also shrinking environmental resources, which
has a negative impact on global climate change. The growing food demand has made
the food industry one of the fastest growing industries in the world. These processes are
accompanied by a strong society pursuit of a lifestyle based on health and sustainable
development. It is a motivation for science and business to take actions to ensure adequate
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9093. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169093 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
