Fruit processing wastes and by-products

Fruits are considered to be one of the most utilized commodities of horticultural produce. They are consumed raw, minimally processed or in the form of processed products. These are important for human nutrition, delivering essential biocomponents like vitamins, minerals, fibers, and antioxidants. Due to increases in population size and changes in dietary habits, the production and processing of fruits has increased to meet the increasing demands. Unfortunately, the processing of fruits produces large amounts of wastes and by-products (rind/peel/skin, seed/kernel and pomace), causing serious environmental and economic issues. However, these under-utilized fruit residues present a good source of valuable compounds, like phytochemicals, vitamins, enzymes, organic acid colorants, dietary fibers, and oils. Recovery of the bioactive components from fruit processing residues has received a great deal of attention, mainly because of their possible health benefits. Therefore, management of these residues is of prime concern for their valorization and also for decreasing the environmental problems, using sustainable and profitable technologies. Conversion of these residues into value-added products could provide a practical way to manage the environmental problems and create sustainable economic growth. This chapter describes the various wastes and by-products generated during fruit processing, how these residues can be valorized, the bioactive potential of fruit processing residues, the recovery of these bioactive components and possible applications of fruit processing residues in the food industry.