Contents 8/2023

The Common Agricultural Policy defines the directions of structural changes in the agri-food sector until the year 2030. This is related to the change in the European Union’s approach to environmental protection and the dynamically changing conditions on the market of agricultural and energy raw materials. The challenges arising from the European Green Deal and the current conditions of the energy economy are important for the functioning of the food industry in Poland, which is characterized by ahigh demand for energy. The aim of the article is to identify challenges in the area of energy management in the food industry in Poland, to assess the level of consumption and energy efficiency of individual branches in this sector, and to formulate conclusions regarding changes to adapt to the new conditions. The results of the research indicate that there have been many positive changes in the energy management of individual branches of the food industry, including as aresult of the completed investments, the energy intensity of production, CO2 emissions and the amount of generated waste decreased. However, due to unfavorable external conditions, it will be necessary to further improve the energy efficiency of enterprises in order to maintain cost competitiveness and meet the growing requirements in the field of environmental protection.

KEYWORDS: energy, energy resources, energy intensity, food industry

The year 2022 passed under the pressure of the war in Ukraine and its consequences in the form of high prices of energy resources (crude oil, coal, natural gas) and rapidly rising prices of agricultural raw materials. Production costs in agriculture and food industry companies increased dramatically. Inflation accelerated, peaking in the first quarter of 2023. The real income of citizens decreased, which limited their purchasing power. Food industry companies have proven to be resistant to the extraordinary phenomena they have recently experienced, i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic or the outbreak of war in Ukraine. They adjusted their production to the changed consumers preferences, while trying to maintain margins at an appropriate level. Most of them, recorded dynamic development, while increasing profits. Reasonable investment decisions were made and current liquidity was maintained at asafe level. Food companies have found themselves under great pressure from cost factors – both raw material, materials and energy, as well as increasing wage pressure from employees, which is why it will be increasingly difficult for them to maintain processing margins at an appropriate level.

KEYWORDS: food industry, food, beverages, tobacco products, demand, production, profit

The article discusses the reporting of companies in the field of sustainable development under the current CSRD directive, which requires the obligation to determine and verify the carbon footprint. The environmental reporting obligations for businesses on f-gases were characterized. The penalties for gas emissions into the environment were presented. Planned directions for amending EU regulations on fluorinated greenhouse gases were also presented. The tightening of the law is expected to contribute to reducing the negative impact of industry on global warming. The regulations impose an obligation to report annualy requirement, making it possible to obtain reliable data on trade in refrigerants.

KEYWORDS: CSRD directive, carbon footprint, f-gases, report database, waste database

The paper presents the results of research on determining the influence of humidity (from 10 to 18%) and the addition of a binder in the form of calcium lignosulfonate (from 0 to 2%) on the parameters of the apple pomace compaction process. Compaction was carried out using a Zwick testing machine type Z020/ TN2S and a pressing unit with a closed die. In particular, the susceptibility of the raw material to compaction, changes in material density and the mechanical strength of agglomerates were determined. It was found that pressure agglomeration can be a form of utilization of apple pomace in the context of the production of high-quality briquettes or pellets. It has been shown that with the increase in raw material moisture, the density of the material in the compaction chamber increases (by 6.5% on average), the compression work decreases (by -36.7% on average) and the quality of agglomerates deteriorates in terms of their mechanical strength. On the other hand, the increase in the binder addition causes an increase in the degree of compaction of the finished product and increases the mechanical strength of the agglomerates by an approximately 3-times.

KEYWORDS: apple pomace, pressure agglomeration, waste utilization, agglomerate quality, binders

Studies on the microencapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) bacteria by spray drying with the use of selected fats as functional protective substances, the effect of selected fats on the survival of bacteria during the spray drying process, during storage for 4 weeks at 4°C and 20°C and to determine the effect of fatty acids content and melting enthalpy on the protective mechanism of bacteria. It has been shown that selected fats have a protective effect on LGG both during drying and storage, with survival in the reference sample amounting to only 13%, where for systems modified with various fats in the amount of 6 weight percent, survival rates ranged from 14.3% to 53.2%. The highest part of live bacteria after drying was found in the case of the addition of palm oil. It was observed that the LGG survival rate decreases with the increase of the melting enthalpy of the added fats (for the three fats for which the best result was obtained). C 18:1 oleic acid and C 18:2 linoleic acid, as well as total monounsaturated fatty acids and C:2 and C:3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may determine the protective effect of the tested triacylglycerols on bacteria. On the other hand, the increased content of C 16:0 acid and total C:0 acids may reduce the protective effect of the fats used.

KEYWORDS: spray drying, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, microencapsulation, fats, fatty acids

Rapeseed oil (Brassica napus L.) is the most popular vegetable oil in Poland. Consumers value its versatility as well as its local, national origin. The aim of the study was to investigate the quality and safety of 11 coldpressed and 11 rapeseed oils offered on the Polish market, and to compare the two groups of oils. It was shown that the rapeseed oils are of good quality and meet the safety requirements. Cold-pressed and refined rapeseed oils differ with regard to the degree of hydrolysis, the content of primary and secondary oxidation products, the content of pigments (and thus colour) and the smoke point. However, no statistically significant differences were found, among others, in the proportion of PUFA fatty acids, nutritional quality indicators, the content of polar compounds or oxidative.

KEYWORDS: rapeseed oils, cold pressing, refining, quality, safety, comparison

Game, which is the basis of hunting cuisine, has been known to consumers for centuries. It used to be the main source of nourishment, nowadays it is seen as aluxury product. The most common game species are boar and roe. There is little information about the fallow deer, aspecies whose meat has ahigh nutritional value. There is hardly any research on fallow deer meat, and most consumers don’t associate it with acooking ingredient. In addition to being rich in protein and having low fat and cholesterol levels, fallow deer meat is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals

KEYWORDS: fallow deer meat, conditions of meat production, quality

Food packaging is one of the major industries that has taken full advantage of modern scientific development. The food packaging market has been striving for advanced automation for along time. The advantages of the new trend are safety and efficiency. The packaging together with the packed product is often the so-called integrated product, this is due to the fact that most products cannot be present without packaging. Regardless of the type of food, this packaging is done using automated food packaging machines. Design solutions and quality of packaging machines determine the conditions of product packaging systems depending on the type of product. The article provides abrief overview of robotics and automation for the sustainable food and packaging industry and briefly describes robotic automation solutions in various supply chain operations and various unprocessed or minimally processed foods.

KEYWORDS: automation and robotics, food industry, robots, low-processed food