ABSTRACT
According to a report issued by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2009, the world vegetable and fruit production in 2007 was 908,838,000 and 554,793,000 tonnes, respectively (FAOSTAT-FAO statistical database 2009), with China, India, Nigeria, and the United States being the main countries producing both crops. Currently, it is observed that as crop production increases, there is concomitant sharp increase in the quantity of the by-products produced. ¢ese by-products are often treated as wastes and discarded into the environment where they pose a major threat to environmental protection. Consequently, there is a need to valorize these wastes through further processing using appropriate techniques to enhance their economic values. Traditionally, many methods have been adopted to treat wastes, including thermal process, evaporation, membrane process, anaerobic digestion or codigestion, biodiesel spraying, combustion, transesterification, coagulation, and composting. However, most methods consume a large amount of energy and are not environmental friendly. ¢us, new techniques have to be developed to minimize waste production or convert waste to a more economically feasible product. ¢is review is aimed at providing detailed information on the composition of fruit and vegetable wastes as well as valorization methods for the utilization of these processing wastes.
