Press Release; April 27, 2012

Mango peels can easily meet the country’s pectin requirements, which are all imported as of now, based on the recently concluded 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).

The cost of imported pectin is estimated at around P27,000 per kilogram. Laboratory scale production of pectin from mango peels cost 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. 

DA-PhilMech Executive Director Ricardo L. Cachuela said that based on a nine-month research, the country can easily meet its pectin requirements since mango peels can be used as a 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 of DA-PhilMech and DOST-ITDI, where trials were conducted at the laboratory, production of pectin [from mango peels] can be upscaled at the commercial level,” Cachuela said.

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, five 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 since the country’s mango farms has an output of around 884,000 metric tons per year. There was a successful research into producing pectin from calamansi peelings but the limited volume of that tropical fruit in the country will make it impossible to provide the country’s pectin needs.

DA-PhilMech and DOST-ITDI  undertook the research on making pectin from mango peelings since the mango processing industry produces tons of peelings every year. Mango peelings from processors and restaurants are usually thrown away or composted with other food wastes. The production of pectin from mango peels can also reduce the voluminous solid waste resulting from mango processing plants, which poses an environmental hazard when not properly disposed. (DA-PhilMech)