Valorisation of food agro-industrial by-products: From the past to the present and perspectives

Abstract

Food agro-industrial by-products mainly include peels, seeds, stems, bagasse, kernels, and husk, derived during food processing. Due to their overproduction and the lack of sustainable management, such by-products have been conventionally rejected and wasted in landfills, being the principal strategy for their treatment, but nowadays, this strategy has been associated with several environmental, social and economic issues. Hence, we focused on the use of different consolidated biotechnological processes and methodologies as suitable strategies for food by-products management and valorisation, highlighting them as potential bioresources because they still gather high compositional and nutritional value, owing to their richness in functional and bioactive molecules with human health benefits. Food by-products could be utilised for the development of new food ingredients or products for human consumption, promoting their integral valorisation and reincorporation to the food supply chain within the circular bioeconomy concept, creating revenue streams, business and job opportunities. In this review, the main goal was to provide a general overview of the food agro-industrial by-products utilised throughout the years, improving global sustainability and human nutrition, emphasising the importance of biowaste valorisation as well as the methodologies employed for the recovery of value-added molecules.

Keywords: Bioactive molecule; Biowaste valorisation; Circular bioeconomy; Food by-product; Green chemistry; Resource recovery.