INTERVIEW

Dr. P.B Pushpalatha is presently working as Associate Professor, Dept of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara. She handles several courses at the under graduate and postgraduate levels. Her major area of research is in plantation crops especially cashew, coconut and coffee. She has,so far,published more than 60 research papers and eight books in this field. A recipient of the  young scientist award of the Government of Kerala,Dr. Pushpalatha has presented her findings at several national and international research fora. She is a life member of All India Food Scientists and Technologists Association and Indian Society of Horticultural Science. In an interview to Sreeni K.R , Dr. P.B Pushpalatha, Associate Professor, Dept of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara,  Kerala Agricultural University, talks about  how fruit wastes can be utilized  and converted  into value added products. When did you join the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara? I joined the College Department in  February 1996. Fruit wastes are a major problem for the processing industries and pollution monitoring agencies. What are the suitable methods you have adopted to utilize them for conversion into value added products? Some of the fruit wastes are a rich source of vital constituents like carbohydrates, fats,    minerals, fibres etc. For example, mango seed kernel is rich in carbohydrates, fats,      proteins and minerals. Technologies are available for extraction of different   constituents which are economically important, from fruit wastes. Fruit wastes have been proved to be very good sources of high value products like pectin, colours, enzymes. Most of the pectin used in the country is extracted from citrus peel. Anthocyanin colour is being extracted from grape peel. The foremost requirement is identification and utilization of the most suitable raw material (fruit wastes)  with respect to a particular product. Evolving and using the most viable technology is another important aspect. This approach will help to reduce the pollution due to wastes from fruit processing industries.   What is pectin? Pectins are mixtures of polysaccharides that originate from plants and contain pectinic   acids as a major component and these are water soluble. They are composed primarily of essential linear polymers of D  galactopyranosyl  uronic acid units joined in alpha-D (1, 4) glycosidic linkages. Pectin forms gels when the polymer chains interact over a portion of their length to form a three dimensional network. This property has raised pectins to a commercially important value added product.  How do you extract pectins from fruit wastes? Pectins can be extracted from fruit wastes by boiling them in acidified aqueous medium. They can also be extracted with calcium chelating agents such as EDTA, ammonium oxalate or sodium hexa meta phosphate.The suitability of the extracting medium depends upon the raw material. Whatever may be the method employed, the recovery and quality of pectin from a plant material depends on  a number of factors like the nature and concentration of acid employed in the extracting media, ratio of extracting media to plant material, number of extractions,and time of heating for pectin extraction. The pectin obtained could be utilized for preparing jelly? How do you maintain the  quality?   It is worth mentioning that the single largest use of pectin is in the manufacture of   jelly. About 80-90 percent of 7-8 million kilogram of commercial pectin is used to make jelly and similar products. So the best way of evaluating commercial validity of pectins is by testing their suitability for preparation of jelly.The condition of media (mainly sugar-acid ratio), boiling time and temperature largely influence the quality of jelly. This is specific to different pectins, which differ in their characters viz., anhydrouronic acid content, methoxy content, degree of esterification and acetyl value. These characters largely influence the jelly grade of pectins, which in turn determine their commercial value. Jelly grade is the amount of sugar that will jellify one part of pectin under prescribed conditions to a standard firmness.Hence it is an unavoidable aspect that every pectin should be described properly through characterization.Only then  the quality of jelly prepared using a particular pectin can be assured. Also media composition, condition of preparation (temperature and duration of boiling), etc. should be standardized.  What are the unique features regarding coffee in the Malabar region? Monsooned Malabar coffee is processed during monsoon season, which is very       peculiar in the part of the West coast of India. It is believed that a stable monsoon is the   stimulus for obtaining superior quality in terms of physical and biochemical properties of coffee beans. The monsoon features like continuous clouds, rainfall and                atmospheric water vapour content, moderate temperature together with gentle marine breeze may be the deciding factors of the quality of coffee. With this background M/S Aspin wall Co. Mangalore sponsored a research project for a period of three years to understand the monsoon features on the quality of beans .The project could unravel the scientific phenomenon that makes the Monsooned Malabar coffee distinct from others, when processed during the monsoon.  Your major area of  research is in plantation crops, especially in cashew, coconut and    coffee. What are your contributions in the processing of these crops? I have worked in two cashew research stations viz., one at Cashew Research Station, Madakkathra and the other at CRS, Anakkayam.I have handled several research projects in breeding and crop improvement programmes in cashew. The work has resulted in high yielding varieties with improved nut and kernel size. Bigger kernels fetch premium prize in the international market.Value addition of cashew apple is another area of interest. I am handling a research project on Coconut product diversification, in which a number of value added coconut products have been standardized. I have given training in this aspect to the personnel of Agricultural Department, self help groups, Kudumbasree units etc. My contribution in coffee processing is the work done in Monsoon Malabar coffee . What sort of changes have you  seen during this year in the processing sector? Quality and safety are gaining more importance than quantity. Quality parameters of the  products  are  becoming  more stringent, and consumer friendly products which are convenient to use, devoid of chemicals and containing natural additives ( colours, essence, preservatives, emulsifiers etc ) are gaining popularity. People are becoming more health conscious and nutritional security is becoming the slogan of the day.Processing, product development, packaging and labeling are being streamlined in this mode. Kudumbasree is a major initiative in Kerala aiming at womens empowerment.What       are the reasons for not introducing jelly as a small scale industry among  the units? Jelly is not as popular as jam. Jams are comparatively easy to prepare and the cost of production is also less. Also,jelly cannot be prepared with all fruits. It can be prepared only with selected fruits like guava, jackfruit and banana(palayankodan).But jam can be prepared with almost all fruits.Hence jam finds the first place while selecting products for popularization. However, training is now being given to Kudumbasree units for preparation of jelly. Jelly is a product which is now becoming popular both for edible and cosmetic purposes. In future how are you planning to develop it on a large scale? A project will be taken up to popularize the jelly through hands-on training programmes, media and exhibitions. Ties with enthusiastic entrepreneurs will be formed for production and marketing of fruit-based jelly.