Abstract
The consumption of fruits and vegetables involves the disposal of the inedible parts, conveying challenges such as waste management and environment pollution. In recent years, there have been multiple studies aimed at finding alternatives that reduce the negative impact of food/agricultural waste. Since most studies done with by-products recommend their careful selection, the aim of this study was to verify if discarded banana peels could be disinfected until microbiologically safe and to determine if they could still provide nutrients to formulate food products with sensory characteristics acceptable to a consumer market after disinfection. Banana peels were collected from markets, restaurants, and greengrocers. They were disinfected, dried, and pulverized to obtain a flour which was subjected to microbiological and proximal analysis. Once its microbial safety was assured, this flour was incorporated into bakery and pasta products, replacing wheat flour with 5-20% banana peel flour (BPF). The sensory evaluation of the different products was carried out and, after verifying that the products were sensory acceptable, the proximal analysis was implemented. The formulated products were suitable for the addition of BPF up to 10%, in which the Acceptability Index was higher than 80% and significant increases in fiber and fat were achieved. We conclude that waste banana peel flour can be incorporated into bread and pasta products for human consumption to provide nutrients which might contribute to reduce this type of waste and to recover nutrients from otherwise disposed banana peels.