Value-added Applications of Fruit Peel Biowaste: A Review of Potential Uses in the Food Industry

This review incorporates the appraisal of fruit peels, commonly dumped agro-waste, as a potential for developing value-added products and environmental issues. In Malaysia, the food industry uses fruits to produce various items ranging from fruit juices, concentrates, and jams to dried fruits that generate considerable organic waste. This inefficiency results in 25–30% of the total product content being discarded, primarily comprising peel wastes from fruits such as oranges, bananas, pomegranates, and lemons. These peels are especially rich in bioactive elements, including pigments, polyphenols, enzymes, vitamins and antioxidants. The review examines the technical interventions planned to produce compounds of high value using these compounds. By utilising different extraction methodologies, the peels' bioactive substances can be extracted. These methods require optimisation to get a maximum yield and a high purity of compounds. Extracted compounds are then utilised in the production of numerous products. The article highlights the potential of these compounds as an ingredient for creating food coatings, probiotics, natural antioxidants, natural dyes, and biosorbents. By changing this waste into cost-effective products, we can progress tremendously toward sustainable use and valorisation of biowaste. This review paper reviews the various fruit peels and their prospective uses, offering a new angle on waste management and resource utilisation in the food industry.

Graphical Abstract