Carrots

Carrot (. Daucus carota) is an important food crop utilized worldwide and its production is associated with by-products such as culled carrots and carrot waste (i.e., carrot pomace). A variety of technologies aimed at adding value to the by-products or lessening the environmental impacts of current disposal strategies have been explored in the recent years. These technologies encompass physical, chemical, and biological processes and may create products in the form of extracted chemicals, biofuels, novel foods, and adsorbent materials. The objective of this chapter was to review the current trends in carrot production throughout the world; the state of the art in carrot cultivation, harvest, storage, and processing; the production and likely amounts of carrot waste and by-products; and the application of physical, chemical, and biological technologies to the by-products. The technologies reviewed are at various stages of commercial development with some already widely commercially available and others farther off in development. The information reviewed here will help in the dissemination of research results of industrial interest to aid in the adoption of relevant technologies in commercial operations.