Numerous studies have indicated that fruits and vegetables are considered as significant sources of bioactive compounds. The generated by-products, which are derived from the food industry, reveal similar or higher antioxidant activity. On the other hand, intense industrialization results in the production of large volumes of by-products, raising serious environmental issues. Therefore, this situation creates the necessity to develop new strategies in order to exploit the generated wastes, securing the ability to develop new high-added-value products. This review aims to summarize the exploitation of fruit wastes, namely, apple and citrus, as well as vegetable by-products which are derived from tomato, potato and carrot cultivation. All the aforementioned by-products have found wide applications in the development of new high-added-value products in the food and feed industry owing to their improved nutritional profiles. Furthermore, these wastes are characterized by a strong antioxidant activity, justifying their valorization in other fields such as cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.
Keywords: agri-food wastes; cosmetics; feed; food; pharmaceuticals.