It is more efficient to maximise the value of food waste and by-products than reducing the cost of its management and disposal. Applications in this direction require intersectoral and intrasectoral synergies for maximising utilisation of complementary waste resources and exchange of skills and knowledge for developing a multidisciplinary approach to research innovation. SYBAWHEY aimed a trans-national partnership between Europe and Africa, on the case study of banana production in Uganda and cheese making in Cyprus dairies.
Uganda is one of the largest producers of fruits and the banana and plantains industry is of vital importance. However, the high consumption rate along with the short shelf life of some varieties results in high post-harvest and processing losses mostly during peak harvest season. Strategies to increase utilisation of banana include the production of banana flour from the edible pulp when the fruit is unripe, and to incorporate the flour into innovative products mainly for bakery and confectionery industry. Interestingly, hybrid varieties are capable of producing high flour yield due to the big bunch sizes, and could therefore find use in the virgin banana flour industry.
In Europe whey from cheese production represents an important environmental pollutant. However, over the last years the increase in production of cheese and the reduction of pork farming in South and Eastern Europe resulted to whey in excess of pig feed need. Compared to other regions, whey streams from Cypriot dairies present high lactose content and therefore great potential for product-driven biorefining, e.g. fermented whey-based products such as yogurt and yogurt drinks, providing sustainable solution for the exploitation of whey stream surplus.
Current research activities examine the addition of banana pulp in dairy products for both nutritional and flavour purposes. Specifically, banana pulp, has been reported to increase the viability of different probiotic microorganisms in yogurt products during storage, to enhance yogurt taste and aroma, whereas among other fruit pulps, banana has been shown to result in the highest water holding capacity and the lowest syneresis value examined during the manufacture of yogurts. This research interest reflects also the remarkable diversity of bananas and plantains that exist in the East Africa Great Lakes plateau and the huge amount of bananas which are rejected for animal feed, especially in banana exporting countries.
