European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety

In terms of economic growth, health benefits, and culture, the olive oil industry is a critical sector for many countries. However, olive mill wastewater (OMWW) is one of the most polluting by-products of the manufacture of virgin olive oil. Several studies have reported that OMWW is a valuable resource of usable compounds for recovery and valorization. Because of its high content of phenolic compounds, it may serve a significant function in food because of the phenolics' strong antioxidant value. The current paper provides a survey of OMWW's phenolic recovery methods, focusing on their application as active constituents in food products. In addition, this contribution provides an overview of key research describing the potentialities of OMWW phenolics in food model systems. The Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases were chosen as our paper references. Based on the available studies, traditional techniques like solvent extraction, membranes, and, more recently, innovative technologies that promise minimum impact on these phytochemicals’ compounds are used to recover phenolics from OMWW. Various food products, such as vegetable oils, bakery products, milk beverages, and meat products, can be fortified. All of these applications are based on phenolics' antibacterial and antioxidant properties to minimize food matrix alteration and contamination.