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The application of Former Food Products (FFPs) as feed ingredients is already documented in swine, as well as their beneficial nutritional value. To date, FFPs extra-nutritional bioactive effect in feed has not been elucidated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity (AOC) in six samples of FFPs extracted by different solvent systems. After methanol and acetone extraction, total phenolic content and AOC were determined in FFPs and wheat sample (CTR) using Folin–Ciocalteu and 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline 6-sulfonic acid)-ABTS assay, respectively. Results demonstrated that FFPs samples were characterised by an average amount of total phenolic content of 129.3 ± 15.1 mg tannic acid equivalents (TAE)/100g in methanol extracts and 156.4 ± 25.8 mg TAE/100g in acetone extracts. Whereas, the ABTS assay revealed that FFPs showed also anAOC of 138.0 ± 14.3 mg Trolox Equivalent (TE)/100 g in methanol extracts and 173.3 ± 18.8 mg TE/100 g in acetone extracts. Former Food Products represent relevant sources of phenols and antioxidant compounds, which can be beneficial for animal health. Former Food Products (FFPs) reprocessing is a way to convert food losses into ingredients for animal diets; Valuable content of total phenolic compounds and notable antioxidant capacity were observed in FFPs after extraction with methanol and acetone; FFPs demonstrated to be a source of bioactive compounds with extra-nutritional activities which can be beneficial for animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of former food products (FFPs) as alternative feed ingredients in farm animal diets has several benefits. In fact, FFPs are a way of converting losses from the food industry into ingredients for the feed industry. FFPs are produced from packaged food and in general, they are recognised as safe. Packaging materials are not accepted as a feed ingredient according to Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, which imposes a rigorous evaluation of possible residues. A sensitive and objective detection method is therefore essential for an effective risk evaluation. Six FFP samples were subjected to electronic nose analysis. Each sample was assessed under three conditions: as-received, cleaned and experimentally-spiked. Packaging remnants were also quantified using a stereomicroscope. Data were analysed via principal component analysis using SPSS software. Although the stereomicroscopy analysis showed a low content of packaging remnants in as-received samples, the electronic nose was able to differentiate between cleaned, as-received and spiked samples. However, this method was not effective when different FFPs were analysed together. In the view of the limitations of this method, it can be concluded that the electronic nose can be considered an objective and sensitive method for the detection of packaging remnants in FFPs composed of the same matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]