Valorization and Utilization of Plant-Based Food Wastes and By-Products: Recent Trends, Technologies and Sustainability Challenges: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Security and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 January 2026) | Viewed by 1121

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería de Alimentos para el Desarrollo, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: food engineering; food processing; food science and technology; food waste valorization; functional foods development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Forest and Food Science, Università Degli Studi Di Torino, Via Largo Braccini, 2 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy
Interests: food structure; food processing and technology; food rheology; sustainability and valorization

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Guest Editor
Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería de Alimentos para el Desarrollo, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: food engineering; food processing; food science and technology; food waste valorization; functional foods development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Volume I of this Special Issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/foods/special_issues/SG8SZAR2T7) was a great success and gained the attention and interest of many scholars. We take the opportunity here to thank them for their contributions and support. As the topic continues to garner the attention of scholars and play a pivotal role, we look forward to the launch of Volume II. I hope it will be as successful as Volume I and of benefit to the field.

Agriculture and the agri-food industry, particularly those focused on minimal processing of plant-based foods, generate substantial amounts of waste and by-products. Due to their composition, these by-products are of great interest for reintroduction into the value chain, thus contributing to the sustainability of the food system. The extraction of components of interest for their antimicrobial, health, or technological properties, along with their integral transformation into powdered ingredients and the application of technologies that enhance the extraction yield or the bioaccessibility and digestibility of the final products, are strategies that have been developed over several years. More recently, plant protein extraction or controlled fermentation have been explored as alternatives to meet the global challenges of climate change and growing food demand.

This Special Issue aims to collect research or review papers related to the valorization and utilization of plant-based food wastes and by-products. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Nutritional evaluation of by-products and their impact on human health;
  • New plant protein sources;
  • Fermentation;
  • Technologies for extraction or processing.

Prof. Dr. Noelia Betoret
Dr. Virginia Teresa Glicerina
Dr. Ester Betoret
Guest Editors

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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.

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Keywords

  • plant-based by-products
  • vegetable proteins
  • extraction
  • fermentation
  • nutritional value

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 3160 KB  
Article
Persimmon Powder from Discarded Fruits as a Potential Prebiotic to Modulate Gut Microbiota in Postmenopausal Women
by Ester Betoret, Nuria Jiménez-Hernández, Stevens Duarte, Alejandro Artacho, Andrea Bueno, Irene Cruz, Noelia Betoret and María José Gosalbes
Foods 2026, 15(3), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15030480 - 30 Jan 2026
Viewed by 813
Abstract
Faced with the challenge of reducing food waste, transforming discarded fruit into functional ingredients useful for the food industry is a valuable solution. Ingredients from fruit such as persimmons, which are rich in indigestible carbohydrates and bioactive compounds with antiradical capacity, could positively [...] Read more.
Faced with the challenge of reducing food waste, transforming discarded fruit into functional ingredients useful for the food industry is a valuable solution. Ingredients from fruit such as persimmons, which are rich in indigestible carbohydrates and bioactive compounds with antiradical capacity, could positively impact on the health of certain population groups due to their potential prebiotic effect. This study aimed to select the most suitable drying conditions and milling intensity for obtaining powdered persimmon ingredients with a prebiotic-like effects observed in vitro for postmenopausal women, and to evaluate this effect by considering the stimulation of health-promoting bacterial growth and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production. First, the effect of the drying method (hot air drying at 60 and 70 °C, and freeze-drying) and grinding intensity on antiradical capacity, particle size, and the release of bioactive antiradical components into the intestinal lumen after an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was determined. Next, the effect of these conditions on the microbiota composition of postmenopausal women was preliminary assessed in a batch colonic fermentation experiment for 24 h. The results showed that the ingredient dried with air at 70 °C had the highest phenol and flavonoid content, suffered the least degradation during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and promoted the differential growth of fiber-degrader genera. Consequently, this was the ingredient selected as the most suitable. Lastly, the impact of this ingredient on the microbiota composition of 4 postmenopausal women has been evaluated in a long-term study using the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME®) coupled to high throughput sequencing. The growth stimulation of health-associated bacteria, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii or Phascolarctobacterium faecium, and the promotion of beneficial metabolic pathways, such as the sugar uptake-specific phosphotransferase system, sugar metabolism and propionate and isobutyrate production, were detected along 14 days of persimmon powder supplementation. A holistic framework for promoting human health while advancing environmental sustainability is represented by the combination of sustainable by-product valorization and microbiota-targeted functional food development. Full article
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