Upcycled Fruit and Vegetable Bioactives: From By-Product Valorization to Sustainable Functional Foods
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food science and technology; food composition and analysis; bioactive compounds; fruit and vegetable by-products; antioxidants; functional foods
Interests: assessment of process–structure–function–product relationship of targeted biologically active compounds; valorization of highly nutritional and functional by-products from food industry; microencapsulation of active ingredients; application of microencapsulation for safe delivery of bioactive substances in food system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite contributions to this Special Issue of Foods, "Upcycled Fruit and Vegetable Bioactives: From By-Product Valorization to Sustainable Functional Foods". This Special Issue aims to explore advanced technologies and novel processing methods that transform diverse fruit and vegetable by-products into essential nutrients, bioactive compounds, or sustainable food solutions that meet modern consumer demands.
The fruit and vegetable processing industry is a significant contributor to the increased production of food waste, and traditional disposal methods exacerbate environmental pollution. However, the richness of fruit and vegetable by-products (peels, stems, stalks, leaves, seeds, kernels, husks, pomaces, etc.) in vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers, and bioactive compounds showcase their vast potential for transformation into valuable nutritional ingredients. An extensive range of possibilities are available, and many innovative applications are continuing to emerge for upcycling fruit and vegetable by‐products into functional foods. The innovative upcycling of fruit and vegetable by‐products into high-value ingredients, as well as for the production of functional foods, could contribute to minimizing food waste disposal, enhancing overall sustainability, and providing consumers with novel, nutritious, and health-promoting food products.
We look forward to receiving your submissions.
Prof. Dr. Violeta Nour
Prof. Dr. Gabriela Rapeanu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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.
Keywords
- fruit and vegetable by-products
- bioactive compounds
- antioxidants
- dietary fibers
- novel food development
- functional foods
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