CHAPTER 7: Fruit and Vegetable Processing: Effects on Extractable and Non-extractable Polyphenols

In view of the fact that much fruit and many vegetables are transformed through different processes, interest in knowing the effects of those processes on the characteristics and quality of foods has grown rapidly in recent years. During the processing of fruit and vegetables, the industry generates a large amount of waste that is discarded and can cause environmental pollution. Many of these residues have a large antioxidant capacity due to their high content of non-extractable polyphenols (NEPP) and are therefore considered to be NEPP-rich materials. Their initial NEPP content and antioxidant capacity may vary according to the subsequent treatment of the waste. In this chapter, we report some basic aspects of fruit and vegetables, the industrial processes applied to them and the potential of the resultant industrial waste and the processes undertaken to use it as an important source of polyphenols and dietary fibre, possibly in the elaboration of other food products or nutritional supplements.