Valorizations, green extraction methods, and application of fruits and vegetables waste for sustainable food ingredients in the food industry: implications of the circular economy

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Fruits and vegetables contain numerous micronutrients, fibres, phytonutrients, natural antioxidant substances, and low energy content, all of which promote human health, making them an essential part of a healthy diet. Consequently, fruit and vegetable crops are regarded as a powerhouse of nutrient-dense products. Additionally, by-products of these commodities often contain more valuable nutrients than the edible fresh parts. However, many of these by-products are discarded or underutilized, leading to significant nutritional, socioeconomic, and environmental issues. This review aims to compile developments in the valorization of fruit and vegetable waste, highlighting emerging extraction technologies and their applications as food ingredients in the food industry. This study was conducted through a database search engine, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The articles retrieved were exported to EndNote version 8 reference management software for reference management. An initial search retrieved a total of 1272 articles. After reading abstracts and removing duplicates and unrelated research, 1051 articles were excluded, leaving 146 full texts included in the review. Moreover, converting fruit and vegetable waste into functional food ingredients supports global sustainable market growth and a resilient circular economy, which offers substantial economic, social, and environmental benefits through policy alignment.