Mango peels seen to meet country’s pectin requirements

Sunday 29th of April 2012

QUEZON CITY, April 28 (PIA) -- Production of pectin from mango peels can be upscaled to meet the country’s requirements for pectin, according to a study of the Department of Agriculture.

This is the result of the recently concluded nine-month research jointly undertaken by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PhilMech) and the Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI), an agency statement said.

DA-PhilMech Executive Director Ricardo L. Cachuela said, the country can easily meet its pectin requirements as mango peels can be used as raw material to manufacture pectin using a simple extraction process.

“We consider this a breakthrough, since up to now, the country imports all of its pectin requirements. Based on the nine-month research where trials were conducted at the laboratory, production of pectin from mango peels can be upscaled at the commercial level,” Cachuela said.

The cost of imported pectin is estimated at around P27,000 per kilogram. Laboratory-scale production of pectin from mango peels costs only about P6,000 per kilogram. Government data showed that the country imported around 93,150 kilograms of pectin in 2008.

Pectin is a group of carbohydrates used as a stabilizer, and gelling and thickening agent by the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

Based on the findings of the Bio-Processing Engineering Division of DA-PhilMech headed by Dr. Cristina Gragasin, in tandem with Dr. Rosalinda C. Torres of the DOST-ITDI, 5 kilograms of mango peels can be used as raw material to come up with a kilogram of pectin.

The quality of the pectin produced from mango peels, according to the research, is comparable to pectin made from apple pomace. Another popular raw material for the manufacture of pectin is citrus peelings.

Mango presents a better opportunity for the Philippines to produce pectin as the country’s mango farms have an output of around 884,000 metric tons per year.

DA-PhilMech and DOST-ITDI undertook the research on making pectin from mango peelings as the mango processing industry produces tons of peelings every years and mango peelings are usually thrown away. (LFB/RJB/DA-PIA NCR)