Upcycling Fruit and Vegetable Pomace Powders for Technological, Nutritional and Sensory Enhancement of Cookies

Research background. Upcycling fruit and vegetable pomace into value-added bioproducts is an effective strategy to reduce food waste while enhancing the nutritional quality of processed foods. Cookies, typically high in sugar and fat, are good candidates for reformulation. Experimental approach. This study aims to evaluate an integrated reformulation strategy combining the incorporation of whole fruit and vegetable pomace with simultaneous sugar and fat reduction in cookies. Three whole pomaces from different fruit and vegetable blends were individually used as partial replacers for oil (25–50 %) and sugar (30–60 %). The chemical composition, technological attributes and sensory acceptance of reformulated cookies were determined. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were quantified in digested samples to assess the influence of pomace incorporation on the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds. Results and conclusions. Pomace incorporation markedly increased total, insoluble, and soluble fiber contents, with higher replacement yielding greater nutritional enhancement. Reformulated cookies also showed increased total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity in digested samples, indicating improved bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds. Technological parameters were moderately affected: hardness increased and spread ratio decreased with increasing pomace amount. Color changes occurred but remained within acceptable limits. Sensory evaluation by a trained panel revealed only slight reductions in crispness and overall liking at the highest incorporation of pomace, indicating that the sensory attributes of pomace-containing cookies were largely maintained. Therefore, formulations with intermediate pomace incorporation and moderate sugar and oil reductions (samples 25/30 and 50/30, where the first number denotes w(oil)reduction and the second number w(sugar)reduction in %) provided the best balance between technological quality, sensory attributes, and phenolic bioaccessibility, while higher replacement (sample 50/60) did not confer additional overall benefits. Novelty and scientific contribution. This study demonstrates that integrating fruit and vegetable pomace into cookie formulation with simultaneous sugar and fat reduction enables the development of a nutritionally enhanced product with moderate technological changes within acceptable quality ranges. The approach not only improves fiber content and phenolic bioaccessibility, but also converts processing residues into value-added bioproducts with functional significance. These findings provide a feasible pathway for designing healthier baked goods while promoting circularity and sustainability in food systems.