The world’s population is quickly increasing, demanding more efficient use of current protein and derivative sources, as well as the development of new and sustainable food production. It is expected that the request for protein throughout the world will be doubled in the next 30 years. This is attributable to population increase as well as a growing awareness of the necessity of protein in a balanced diet in general, especially for youngsters and the elderly. Different operations in the food business create by- and co-products that, depending on the situation, might be value-add goods. The majority of these by- and co-products are released by fish and meat industry, dairy industry, and plant-based sources. Heads, skins, frames, and shellfish of fish, whey, nuts, peels, stones, and oilseed meals are large amounts of by- and co-products from the mentioned industries that are great source of protein and bioactive peptides that it is necessary to be recovered and reused; otherwise can cause environmental issues. Membrane technology has received huge attention for recovery of protein and peptides rather than selective precipitation, crystallization, and chromatography techniques and it is quickly becoming a popular food processing trend. Ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and electrodialysis ultrafiltration (EDUF) are membrane processes with great and special potential for the separation and purification protein and peptides with various molecular weights. The successful recovery and fractionation of proteins and small peptides with a diverse range of functional, nutritional, and biological properties from food-based co- and by-products have been reported and this technique is still introduced as the first optimal choice for the selective separation of the mentioned compounds from the food industry wastes.
