Value-Added Applications of Bioactive Compounds from By-Products of Food Processing

Dear Colleagues,

The escalating global population and evolving lifestyles have resulted in a substantial surge in food waste across industrial, agricultural, and household sectors. This abundance of food waste poses a pressing global concern, as mismanagement can harm the environment and human health. However, waste from fruits, vegetables, grains, and other food production and processing residues contains valuable bioactive compounds. These compounds, including polyphenols, dietary fiber, proteins, lipids, vitamins, organic acids, and minerals, often exist in higher concentrations in discarded parts than in those deemed market-worthy. Harnessing these bioactive compounds presents an opportunity to transform food waste into valuable resources. Various industries, from food production and nutrition to bioplastics, bioenergy, and biofertilizers, have embraced food waste as a novel and sustainable source for value-added products. This Special Issue explores the diverse applications and potential benefits of bioactive compounds derived from food processing by-products. It seeks to highlight innovative research, technologies, and methodologies that contribute to these compounds' extraction, characterization, and utilization for various value-added purposes. The Special Issue will cover a broad range of topics related to bioactive compounds obtained from food processing by-products, including but not limited to extraction techniques and optimization, characterization, and identification of bioactive compounds, biological activities, and health benefits and applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals, environmental sustainability, and waste reduction strategies.

Dr. Diana De Santis
Guest Editor

Dr. Margherita Modesti
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• bioactive compounds
• food processing by-products
• extraction techniques
• functional foods
• nutraceuticals
• health benefits
• sustainability
• waste reduction