An East London-based company has begun the process of producing dietary fibre from pineapple waste.
An East London-based company has begun the process of producing dietary fibre from pineapple waste.
The company, which is planning to undergo a R400-million relocation to Bathurst by 2011, is pioneering a production line of dietary fibre to add value to the waste products left over from pineapple processing and therefore help the pineapple industry get back on its feet after it was dealt serious blows in the recent past.
Anthony Albers, project manager for Ndlambe Natural Industrial Products (NNIP) which owns the majority stake in Summerpride Foods, said plans were nearing the final stage of implementation which will see Summerpride supplying the dairy, meat processing and baking sectors with a "high quality" source of dietary fibre. "This is an excellent health product which can also be used in baking to add nutrients and as an extender for more volume," he said.
The fibre is extracted from the peels and cores of the fruit after it has been juiced or canned. Until now the waste, which Albers said amounts to around 6 000 tons per year, has been used by farmers as an additional source of feed for livestock.
Albers said they started with a six month trial period in February. "There were certain challenges we had to overcome including some technological challenges like how to extract sugar from the waste without it caramelising." He said he was very happy with the results and that samples had been given quality approval by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Cape Town.
Albers said they are planning a semi-automated production line which should be up and running by the end of this month which will allow for commercial sampling in the market. "Once we know there is a market for this then we plan to extend our production line." He said they are aiming to produce about 1% of the world’s dietary fibre, which is currently estimated as being around 400 000 tons per year. "Since starting up we’ve had quite a lot of interest from the overseas market but we are still a way away from being able to interact fully with them," he said.
Albers said diversification is the key to successful sustainability and that the factory aims to expand its product stream to include at least another four viable products, including textile fibre, bromelain (a digestive enzyme used as an anti-inflammatory) and electricity generated by an anaerobic digester which could make the company eligible to earn carbon credits.
