More healthy and sustainable food are nowadays desirable to improve human health and protect the planet’s resources. From this perspective, the aim of this study is to investigate artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) by-products as a potential source of phenolic compounds and to use these compounds to design new fresh egg pasta formulation. Sustainable extraction was carried out using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and chemometric techniques, such as the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). UAE process parameters (temperature and time) and solvent composition (ethanol aqueous mixtures) were optimized using a three-level Box–Behnken design, in order to carry out the maximum yield in phenols. Under the optimal conditions (temperature: 60 °C; time: 60 min; solvent: 50% ethanol:water), the amount of phenolics (TPC) was 22.4 ± 0.2 mg GAE g⁻¹ d.w., characterized mainly by dicaffeoylquinic acid (32.8 ± 0.6 mg CAE g⁻¹ d.w.) and chlorogenic acid (14.1 ± 0.2 mg CAE g⁻¹ d.w.). Hence, the polyphenols extract was used as an ingredient to design a new formulation of functional fresh egg pasta. Four recipes with soft wheat and semolina (P₁ and P₂) and with soft wheat alone (P₃ and P₄) were prepared. Compared with control pastas (P₁ and P₃), the enriched ones (P₂ and P₄) showed a higher polyphenol content, especially for P₄ (1.86 ± 0.03 mg GAE g⁻¹ d.w. for P₁, 2.05 ± 0.02 mg GAE g⁻¹ d.w. for P₂, 1.92 ± 0.03 mg GAE g⁻¹ d.w. for P₃, 2.04 ± 0.02 mg GAE g⁻¹ d.w. for P₄). A high decrease in TPC was observed as a result of the cooking process, especially for the two control formulations (−71% for P₁ and −70% for P₃) in comparison with P₂ (−64%) and P₄ (−55%). At last, to assess the antimicrobial effect of artichoke by-products on fresh pasta and to monitor its spoilage, we used image analysis. Corresponding to a higher TPC content, P₂ and P₄ showed an extended shelf life of 16% and 33%, respectively, probably due to the antioxidant activity of artichoke. The new fresh egg pasta enriched with polyphenols extracted from artichoke by-products showed very good nutritional and technological characteristics, even after cooking, confirming the good potentiality of artichoke by-products in the design of new, healthy, and sustainable food products.

The implementation of agroecology principles within organic farming research is a crux to redesign sustainable agri-food systems. To govern this transition, the local research demand should be addressed by direct engagement of all stakeholders in the research process. The first step is the involvement of farmers and technicians, with the aim of restoring their decision-making role, switching governance to local scale. The co-design/co-management of Long-Term Experiments (LTEs) can be crucial to govern the above-described transition through networking and participatory activities. In this study, we report the experience of co-designing a new LTE in Southern Italy by local actors and scientists. Through a participatory action research methodology, an LTE was considered as a biophysical component of an agroecological living lab, a public–private environment aimed to design a local food system. The setup of parallel field trials in satellite farms stands for the other biophysical component, whereas the stakeholder platform represents the social one. Through definition of common objectives, a step-by-step process is presented, which highlights the interest of local organic actors to share ideas and perspectives for the territory, pointing out the inclusion of end-users (the consumers) in the process to complete the transition to sustainable food systems.

Processing sustainability and the concept of zero waste discharge are of great interest for many industries. Every year, fruit and vegetable processing industries generate huge amounts of by-products, which are often intended for animal feed or discarded as waste, posing a problem to both environmental and economic points of view. However, to minimize the waste burden, the valorization of these residues received increased interest. In fact, fruit and vegetable by-products are an excellent source of valuable compounds, such as proteins, dietary fibers, lipids, minerals, vitamins, phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and pigments, which can be recovered and reused, creating new business prospects from a circular economy perspective. Understanding the chemical characteristics of these materials is a key concern for their valorization and the identification of their most appropriate intended use. In this study, the phytochemical and functional properties of fruit and vegetable processing by-products (peel and pomace) were investigated. Samples of different plants (i.e., apple, black and orange carrot, cucumber, kumquat, mango, parsnip, peach, black plum) were analyzed using chemical analytical methods and characterized using Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR). The results highlighted their high nutritional composition in terms of protein, lipids, fiber, and ash, as well as bioactive and antioxidant profiles. These characteristics make these residues suitable as natural ingredients for the development of high-added-value products in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

Industrial agriculture and its requirement for standardized approaches is driving the world towards a global food system, shrinking the role of farmers and shifting decision-making power. On the contrary, a holistic perspective towards a new food-system design could meet the needs of a larger share of stakeholders. Long-term experiments are crucial in this transition, being the hub of knowledge and the workshop of ‘participation in’ and ‘appropriation of’ the research in agriculture over a long term. We present a methodology applied during the creation of a small network of organic farmers in Italy and detail the steps of the co-innovation process implemented. After a context analysis of the area to define the type of research and degree of participation, three steps were performed: (1) Identification of stakeholders; (2) dialogic identification of common activities; and (3) validation and feedback from participants. In the first participatory step, five organic farms were engaged for the second and third steps. We organized meetings to discuss future plans, facilitating the interaction process between farmers and researchers. These activities led to: (i) the definition of a research protocol based on farmers’ research needs for a new long-term experiment; (ii) committing farmers to take an active role in the research; and (iii) hosting experimental satellite trials in their own farms.

Nutritional and commercial value of the apricot fruits depends on the interaction among several factors, including the management strategies, the environmental conditions, and the genotype. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of orchard management and pedoclimatic conditions on apricot fruit quality traits (soluble solids, titratable acidity, dry matter and soluble solids and titratable acidity ratio) and phytochemical content (total phenolic content and antioxidant activity). Two apricot cultivars (Kioto* and Pieve*) were subjected to three different organic systems: (i) a standard management (BAU), (ii) an innovative diversified system with reduced tillage based on the natural cover conservation (INC) and (iii) an innovative diversified system with introduction of different cover crops (ICC), for two consecutive years (2019–2020). Overall, besides the effect of the climatic conditions, the multivariate analysis revealed the role of management systems, rather than genotype, on the quality of apricot fruits. In particular, INC soil management positively affected soluble solids, titratable acidity and dry matter parameters, especially in environments with low precipitation and high solar radiation (20.7 ± 1.7 g 100 g⁻¹ FW, 19.9 ± 2.5 g MA 100 g⁻¹ FW and 0.23 ± 0.2 g 100 g⁻¹ FW respectively). In addition, the results indicate that ICC management showed the highest antioxidant values (1.45 ± 0.19 μg of Trolox equivalent (TE) 100 mg⁻¹ FW), especially in the environment with high precipitation. This study was a useful tool for farmer to choose an effective organic system management in order to obtain fruits with high quality parameters.

In this research, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) coupled with response surface methodology was used to identify the optimal process parameters (temperature, time, and solvent composition (ethanol–water ratio)) for bioactive compounds extraction from stalks and debranning products. Extraction efficiency was assessed in terms of total phenolic compounds (TPCs) and antioxidant activity (AA), and phenolic profiles were identified using HPLC-DAD for the four samples of byproducts (two samples from stalks, C1 and C2, and two samples for debranning products, C3 and C4, from two different farms). The optimized extract containing the highest amount of TPC at different levels was used to enrich bread to evaluate the ability of extending their shelf life using a hyperspectral imaging device (935–1720 nm). Under the optimal conditions, the amounts of phenolics on average in stalk increased by about 79.5% and 47.0% in debranning products, whereas the relative AA increased by about 28.5% (C1 and C2 samples) and 63.0% (C3 and C4 samples) when UAE was applied with respect to the traditional technique. The characterization of stalk phenolic acids profile revealed that gallic, ferulic, and 4-coumaric acids were the prevalent ones. Otherwise, caffeic, syringic, and 3-coumaric acids were the most abundant in debranning products. As expected, enriched bread showed a significant increase in TPC and AA values without influence on organoleptic characteristics. Finally, enriched bread showed a shelf-life increase of about five days.