Wastes from Fruits and Vegetables Processing Industry for Value-Added Products

As the world’s population grows, so does the demand for fruit and vegetable production and the processing sector that supports it, resulting in the production of large amounts of fruit and vegetable waste. Fruit and vegetable processing is one of today’s most important industries. Nowadays, a large portion of fresh fruits and vegetables are processed. The industrial processing of fruits generates a large amount of waste or byproducts. Fruit and vegetable production has recently expanded dramatically as a result of the rising population and changing eating habits, with more people adopting vegetarian diets. Vegetables contain sugars, dietary and resistant fibers, and vitamins and minerals. Vegetable processing waste products such as peels, seeds, and stones can be successfully used as a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants. Vegetable tissue is rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and vitamins, and in most cases, waste byproducts can contain antioxidant and antibacterial substances that are comparable to or even greater than the end products. Because these are high-value products, and their recovery may be economically attractive, new aspects addressing the utilization of these wastes as byproducts for further exploitation in the formation of food additives or supplements with high nutritional value have captivated attention. The byproducts are a good source of sugars, minerals, organic acids, dietary fiber, and phenolics, all of which have anti-tumoral, antiviral, antibacterial, cardioprotective, and antimutagenic properties. However, due to a lack of awareness of the nutritional and economic worth of byproducts, their use is limited. The major goal of this review is to stimulate the production and processing of fruits and vegetables by emphasizing the possibility of extracting bioactive components from discarded fruits and vegetables and using them as natural food additives. All of these advantages will pave the way for the future use of fruit and vegetable waste in a variety of applications.