Evaluation of starches from varied plant sources to produce mango peel flakes in a drum dryer: technological properties and application of the obtained functional ingredients

• Grant number: 20/11510-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2021
• End date: May 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Principal Investigator: Silvia Pimentel Marconi Germer
• Grantee: Larissa Consoli
• Host Institution: Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos (ITAL). Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/50349-0 - Plan of institutional development in research of the Institute of Food Technology - ITAL (PDIp), AP.PDIP

Abstract

The circular economy represents an economic model that can serve as a guide for companies to implement the principles of sustainability in their means of production. Efficient waste management is closely linked to the principles of the circular economy. The fruit and vegetable processing industry generates a large amount of residue, many of which are rich in compounds with high nutritional value and bioactive potential. The waste of these materials represents simultaneously a loss of resources and damage to the environment. Therefore, its reuse must be stimulated, meeting the principles of the circular economy. Mango is a fruit of Asian origin which is well known and accepted worldwide, due to its unique sensory attributes, and Brazil is a great producer and exporter. The mango peels, currently discarded in the industrial process, are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds, which gives these materials interesting properties from the technological point of view and health appeal. In particular, the high concentration of dietary fibers in the mango peel is favorable to water retention, a very interesting property for application in meat products, which has not been reported by any study up to date, showing great potential for the use of these residues for the production of functional ingredients for application in processed products. Drum drying is an energy-efficient technique for removing water from pasty materials, representing an alternative for drying fruit residues, aiming to the storage stability. Corn starch is one of the most used ingredients as an auxiliary additive in the drum drying, but starches from plant sources such as pulses, tubers, and other cereals else corn have shown excellent technological performance and represent an alternative for the process. The present project aims to develop functional ingredients from mango peels, with the application of alternative starches to corn as auxiliary drying additives, analyzing the effect on the physicochemical and technological properties, as well as on the application of the functional ingredients obtained in the development of meat products. The work will be structured in the following stages: definition of the method of crushing and homogenization of mango peels; drum drying of the mango peel purees with the use of starches from tubers, pulses and cereals and evaluation of the physicochemical and technological properties of the obtained flakes; stability study of the flakes; application of the mango peel flakes as an ingredient in the development of meat products. The project will be developed on the facilities of the Food Technology Institute (ITAL, Campinas-SP) in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute (Freising - Germany). (AU)