Nowadays, there is growing interest for the development of enriched dairy products with phenolic compounds derived from edible sources, mainly due to their safety and potential health benefits. Following that trend, in the present study, fruit juices (blueberry, aronia, and grape) were supplemented into yogurt as functional ingredients. The main physicochemical characteristics (pH, reducing sugars, acidity, color, and syneresis), total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and viability of yogurt starters were monitored during production and storage. The use of juices had no significant effect on milk acidification rate and on the main physicochemical characteristics of yogurts, while resulted in increased red color. Total phenolic content increased from 30 to 33% (grape and aronia) and up to 49% (blueberry), while similar results were observed in antioxidant activity. Similar values of syneresis were presented in all yogurts, probably due to exopolysaccharide producing starter culture. Streptococcus thermophilus retained high viable counts during storage especially in yogurts with fruit juices (>10⁸ cells g⁻¹) revealing a possible prebiotic effect of juices. The results obtained from this study show that fruit juices (aronia, blueberry, and grape) have potential to be used in yogurt production in order to optimize the benefits of probiotic products with high phenolic compound intake.

Coffee is considered to be one of the most renowned beverages and it is the second-most consumed product worldwide. Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are the primary solid residue, which are generated during the coffee powder brewing in hot water or steam. The formation of huge amounts of these byproducts poses a severe threat to the environment, due to their organic nature and their high phenolic compounds concentration. Nevertheless, the latter are characterized as bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activity turning SCG into an economical raw matrix for the isolation of valuable components. Phenolic compounds that can be isolated from coffee byproducts can be potentially used as natural antioxidants in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. Thus, the research community has focused its efforts on the optimization of phenolics extraction by the development of novel environmentally friendly techniques except for conventional maceration extraction using organic solvents. The objective of this review is to present an inclusive summary of the revalorization of SCGs and the potential uses of those solid residues through the recovery of phenolic compounds or the use of untreated or treated SCGs as biosorbents of valuable compounds from other food industry byproducts.

Peach processing generates significant amounts of by-products including peels, pomace, and seeds that are often discarded as waste, despite their rich content of bioactive components. Various methods, such as solvent extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and alkaline and acid hydrolysis, have been employed to recover valuable components from peach by-products. These compounds have shown potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, these wastes can also be used to produce functional ingredients, natural colorants, and dietary supplements. Alternative uses include animal feed, composting materials, and biofuels. This comprehensive review provides an overview of the valorization of peach by-products, focusing on the isolation of valuable compounds, the techniques used, and the potential applications of the obtained compounds.

Olive oil is one of the most widely used oils in the world with economic importance for many countries. Olive oil extraction generates large amounts of solid (cake) and liquid waste (olive mill wastewater, OMW), which pose a chronic environmental problem due to their disposal of the produced wastes on the landfill and water recipients. Thus, the research community is in search of techniques, individually or in combination, in order to detoxify waste. The common treatment methods belong to a one-dimensional waste treatment approach, which is depollution. A practical way to overcome the financial obstacle of depollution is to develop treatment schemes that combine depollution with recovery of valuable ingredients, such as phenolics. The toxicity of this waste is mainly due to the high concentration of phenolic compounds, which, however, have strong antioxidant activity, turning OMW into an economical raw material for the recovery of bioactive compounds. Adsorption is generally considered to be the most effective and low-cost method for the removal of phenolics. So far, few studies have been carried out using sorbents for the removal of phenolics from OMW. However, the relatively high initial cost and the need for a costly regeneration system render common sorbents less economically viable. Thus, many researchers have focused their efforts on optimizing adsorption process by development of novel, low-cost adsorbents with high adsorptive capacity, originating from food industry byproducts (biosorbents). The objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive summary of the biosorbents used for OMW management.

This study evaluated and compared two encapsulation techniques—co-crystallization and ionic gelation—for stabilizing bioactive components derived from lavender distillation residues. Utilizing aqueous ethanol extraction (solid residues) and concentration (liquid residues), phenolic-rich extracts were incorporated into encapsulation matrices and processed under controlled conditions. Comprehensive characterization included encapsulation efficiency (Ef), antioxidant activity (AA), moisture content, hygroscopicity, dissolution time, bulk density, and color parameters (L*, a*, b*). Co-crystallization outperformed ionic gelation across most criteria, achieving significantly higher Ef (>150%) and superior functional properties such as lower moisture content (<0.5%), negative hygroscopicity (−6%), and faster dissolution (<60 s). These features suggested enhanced physicochemical stability and suitability for applications requiring long shelf life and rapid solubility. In contrast, extruded beads exhibited high moisture levels (94.0–95.4%) but allowed better control over morphological features. The work introduced a mild-processing approach applied innovatively to the valorization of lavender distillation waste through structurally stable phenolic delivery systems. By systematically benchmarking two distinct encapsulation strategies under equivalent formulation conditions, this study advanced current understanding in bioactive microencapsulation and offers new tools for developing functional ingredients from aromatic plant by-products.