About this Research Topic

Background

Food waste and the production of food by-products are major issues that have negative impacts on the environment, the economy, and society. Reducing food waste across the world has been a common goal since according to FAO, 1.3 billion tons of food waste is generated per year. The way food is produced is not sustainable in the long run, whilst wasting a third of it when about 10% of the world population is undernourished.

The EU and many other nations advocate action plans to reduce food waste, such as the Farm to Fork Strategy, Circular Economy Action Plan, and EU Waste Legislation due to the significant awareness of the severity of the issue. Reducing food waste may be a significant way to cut production costs and create more effective food systems. With a 21% contribution, fruit and vegetables rank amongst the top sources of waste production, whilst this waste includes renewable organic resources.

Thanks to the recent advancements in biotechnologies, most of these resources can be now used in food production processes to increase the value of the product. Fruit and vegetables include, after all, many health-promoting bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, proteins, lipids, vitamins, and dietary fiber, which can improve the nutritional, functional, and technological properties of food products. Numerous studies have been conducted in recent years to determine how to best utilize these by-products and waste to produce food ingredients, functional foods, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmeceuticals.

By-products from fruit and vegetable resources and waste also include renewable organic resources, and their chemical mixes have a very complex matrix, containing a variety of chemical ingredients such as polysaccharides, proteins, vitamins, or phenolic compounds. The waste and by-products currently represent unresolved challenges that are attracting the attention of governments, corporations, academia, and other organizations and without a solution, they can place a significant environmental burden on ecosystems.

Using different approaches and bio-technologies, fruit and vegetable by-products and waste can be transformed and utilized as valuable ingredients in different food recipes, bringing an important contribution to the “functional food” chapter and moving towards a circular economy.


Researchers are invited to contribute their most current discoveries and cutting-edge methods for creating and describing applications for fruit and vegetable waste and by-products that add value, as well as their characterizing and processing. Original research papers and reviews are encouraged to be submitted to this Research Topic from both academic and industrial scientists across various sectors. The following are just a few possible research areas:
• Novel processing methods for fruits and vegetables waste and by-products;
• Bioprocessing and bio-refinery for turning fruit and vegetables waste and by-products into foods with added value;
• Enhancing the nutrient content and health coverage of fruit and vegetables waste and by-products;
• Development of novel food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products based on bioactive extracts of fruit and vegetables waste
• Utilizing fruit and vegetables waste and by-products to cut costs and promote sustainability;

Keywords: Agri-food waste, valorization, fruit and vegetable waste, by-products, functional foods

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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