Carbon Footprint in Vegeburger Production Technology Using a Prototype Forming and Breading Device

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 vegeburgers were determined. The CO2 to kWh conversion factor, with a value of 0.765 kg CO2∙kWh−1 was used to calculate the carbon footprint. Vegeburgers obtained during the study were characterized 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 CO2 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 emissions and accounts for 22% to 24% for small productions (2.0 kg). The total carbon footprint was 1.09–1.13 kg CO2/kg of product, respectively, i.e., about 0.10–0.12 kg CO2 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.