Biological and Microbial Technologies for the Transformation of Fruits and Vegetable Wastes

This chapter seeks to examine the researched biological and microbial technologies with the potential for the transformation of waste from fruits and vegetables into high value products namely food, feed, fuel, and diverse of chemicals for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Fruit and vegetable waste constitute about 20–50% of municipal waste. The main components of fruit and vegetable wastes are complex and simple carbohydrates, pigments, flavor compounds and antioxidants. There are various biological and microbial processes used in the transformation of fruit and vegetable waste into valuable products. These processes include fermentation, the use of enzymes and a biorefinery approach. The solid state fermentation has been used in the preparation of most fermented foods such as corn dough, agbelima, fermented sorghum, fermented millet, dairy products, soya sauce, and tempeh. Fruit and vegetable wastes are important sources of bioactive compounds and a rich source of dietary fiber, edible oils, and bio pigments.