Eating with peel or not: Investigation of the peel consumption situation and its nutrition, risk analysis, and dietary advice in China

Nutritious, balanced, tasty and easy to eat, fruit is an indispensable health food for consumers. With consumers' increasing respect for the concept of health, green and nutrition, the peel, which has higher nutritional value compared to the pulp, is gradually being emphasized in the consumption process. The suitability of fruit peels for consumption is influenced by various factors, such as the amount of pesticide residues, nutrient content, ease of peeling, and fruit texture, but there is a lack of relevant studies to guide consumers' scientific intake of fruit peels. This review first investigated chineses consumers consumption of common fruits with peels, especially eight fruits that are controversial in terms of whether to consume them with peels, and the results showed that whether people consume peels depends mainly on their nutritional value and pesticide residues. Based on this, the paper discusses the common methods of pesticide detection and removal from fruit peels, as well as the nutrients contained in different fruit peels and their physiological activities, if the peels usually have stronger antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities than the pulp. Finally, reasonable dietary recommen-dations are made on whether fruits should be consumed with their peels, with a view to guiding chineses consumers towards scientific consumption and provide theoretical basis for relevant research in other countries.

Automated summary

Fruit is a nutritious and balanced health food that is tasty and easy to eat, and fruit peels are gaining emphasis as they have higher nutritional value compared to the pulp. However, there is a lack of relevant studies to guide consumers on the scientific intake of fruit peels. This review investigates the consumption of common fruits with peels by Chinese consumers and discusses methods of pesticide detection and removal, as well as the physiological activities of nutrients in different fruit peels.