The 3rd Peer Review Session of the Biocircularcities project was held on 23-24 May 2023. It follows the 3rd round of Local Living Labs that brought together the Metropolitan City of Naples’ local stakeholders. For the first time, this Peer Review session took place in person, gathering 6 external experts in Barcelona. One session focused on the value-chain explored by the MCN, focusing on valorising coffee silverskin into high-fibre content bread.
The experts discussed the methods and results of the life-cycle assessment and life-cycle cost analyses conducted by ENEA. Discussions were conducted on the comparative costs of disposal and separate treatment/recycling of biowaste, which are very dependent on local prices, the availability of treatment units near the waste producer, or the impurity of the separated bioresidues.
Then, experts exchanged on the policy recommendations to support the transition to the innovative biocircular scenario, with the wider scope of agro-industrial by-products and bio-waste, and their recycling into new bio-based products. One major obstacle for the introduction of novel food products is the required laboratory analyses and the necessary 2-year period required until market authorization by EFSA. One possibility to ease the implementation of the new value-chain would be the fact that the conversion of silverskin into flour is done internally by the coffee company, and not by an external company. This could also lead to interesting technical synergies such as the re-use of steam produced during the process.