Ugandan scientist increases shelf-life of peeled matooke
Apr 25, 2010
IT’S Saturday afternoon. As a matter of routine every weekend, Janet Luswata goes to Half Price Supermarket in Kitintale, a Kampala suburb and buys a kilo of chilled, fresh matooke (green bananas).
By John Kasozi
IT’S Saturday afternoon. As a matter of routine every weekend, Janet Luswata goes to Half Price Supermarket in Kitintale, a Kampala suburb and buys a kilo of chilled, fresh matooke (green bananas).
Luswata wants four more kilos, but the attendant tells her their stock has run out.
“Our purchasing officer has made note of the shortage and we shall stock more matooke next week,†reaffirmed the attendant.
A Ugandan project, Fresh Vacuum Sealed Matooke (FREVASEMA), has started packing peeled matooke, increasing its shelf-life for up to one month.
“This is an excellent way of adding value to a crop which occupies nearly 40% of Uganda’s arable land. The project focuses on establishing ways to industrialise post-harvest matooke and its by-products in fresh form,†says Dr. George Byarugaba Bazirake, the project’s principal investigator.
“Our objectives are adding value to the matooke varieties (kibuzi, mpologoma, mbwazirume and nzagata) by prolonging the shelf-life for easy marketing locally and internationally,†he adds.
Bazirake says the guaranteed shelf-life for the matooke is about 30 days, provided they are well kept between 0o and 40oC in the refrigerator. But even at room temperature, it stays ‘fresh’ for two to three days.
“Our second objective is to reduce the weight by 40%. Hence, the burden of transporting matooke waste and their disposal costs in urban areas is curtailed. Matooke waste contributes 510 metric tones of the overall garbage in Kampala per day,†Bazirake observes.
He adds: “It costs urban authorities about sh13,000 per metric tonne of waste for disposal.â€
Therefore, reducing the bulk weight of matooke to the end user by 40% is cost-effective.
“Besides, every plantation that produces matooke is deprived of the organic manure from peels, leaves and stalks,†says Bazirake.
He notes that livestock in rural areas are also denied banana waste as feeds. The banana peels that make up 40% of the matooke are dried and used as ingredients in the production of livestock feeds. They are mixed with maize bran, soya bean, fish meal, bone ash, salt and vitamins.
The project also explores the possibility of getting biogas from banana waste. The fuel is projected to come from 5% of total matooke waste and spoilt matooke.
“The other item we make is matooke-based pickles, preserved with salt and vinegar. We are to use biotechnology cultures (Acetobacter and Glucanobacter) to produce vinegar from 2% of matooke waste and surplus,†says Bazirake.
“We also liaise with other innovators who can use our banana fibre (waste) to make biodegradable shopping bags,†observes Bazirake.
They have identified farmers in 16 districts to supply the matooke.
The project would also ensure food security. Banana losses and waste in tropical and sub-tropical Africa have been reported to be as high as 25%, yet matooke has become the most important crop worldwide.
Bazirake says when matooke is brought to the factory, it is manually sorted, weighed and peeled using hand peelers. It is then washed in tap water and immersed in sodium metabisulphate (distilled water solution) for 30 seconds, to inactivate enzymes responsible for browning (oxidation). It is then drained in a stainless steel mesh for five minutes, vacuum sealed and labelled.
Globally, Uganda has annual banana yields of over 12 million tonnes, ranking second in world production after India. Uganda is the world’s largest producer of matooke, yet ranks 70th in total banana trade.
“This shows that banana production in Uganda does not correlate with expected commercial returns. The vacuum-packed matooke can easily be exported,†says Bazirake.
Export product samples have been sent to the UK and Dubai, following the demand. Two promotional samples have been sent to the US and have been received with a lot of excitement. So far, four batches of 500 packs have been exported to the UK.
Bazirake says in Kampala, they have a monthly demand of 80 tonnes; in the US 20 tonnes; and in the UK, 50 tonnes.
“Currently, we produce and deliver 20 tonnes per week using our one 10-tonne refrigerated truck that commutes twice a week from Mbarara to Kampala. The packs are one kilo each. But we have placed an order for a 2kg and 5kg vacuum sealer,†he says.
In addition to supermarkets, they also intend to start supplying to hotels and schools.
The one kilogram packs have been presented at regional and international conventions in Kenya, Italy, Chicago, Boston and New York in the US.
Three public exhibitions were held during the National Science Week at the Commonwealth Speke Resort, Munyonyo, and at the Uganda Manufacturers Association showgrounds respectively. They received positive remarks.
Bazirake says they have also been able to acquire a refrigerated truck, service pick-up and other laboratory equipment.
The project was given part of Uganda Investment Authority’s land in Mbarara Industrial Park and has been able to put up a factory which opened on March 15 this year. The site was selected because of its proximity to the matooke-producing areas of western Uganda. Twenty-five people are currently employed in the factory.
Bazirake is a lecturer of food technology and biotechnology at Kyambogo University and works with Prof. Wilson Byarugaba of Kampala International University Western Campus.
Bazirake says he came up with the idea after UNESCO sponsored his research in 2001.
In 2006, President Yoweri Museveni contributed $2,000, which was used to purchase hand peelers. In the same year, he won the first Presidential Scientific Award at an exhibition in Munyonyo. It was then that he wrote a proposal to UNCST, which was approved in 2008.
They also got financial support from the Ministry of Finance in the financial year 2008/2009.
FREVASEMA is one of the projects funded by the Government under the presidential support to scientists through Uganda National Council for Science and Technology.
IT’S Saturday afternoon. As a matter of routine every weekend, Janet Luswata goes to Half Price Supermarket in Kitintale, a Kampala suburb and buys a kilo of chilled, fresh matooke (green bananas).
Luswata wants four more kilos, but the attendant tells her their stock has run out.
“Our purchasing officer has made note of the shortage and we shall stock more matooke next week,†reaffirmed the attendant.
A Ugandan project, Fresh Vacuum Sealed Matooke (FREVASEMA), has started packing peeled matooke, increasing its shelf-life for up to one month.
“This is an excellent way of adding value to a crop which occupies nearly 40% of Uganda’s arable land. The project focuses on establishing ways to industrialise post-harvest matooke and its by-products in fresh form,†says Dr. George Byarugaba Bazirake, the project’s principal investigator.
“Our objectives are adding value to the matooke varieties (kibuzi, mpologoma, mbwazirume and nzagata) by prolonging the shelf-life for easy marketing locally and internationally,†he adds.
Bazirake says the guaranteed shelf-life for the matooke is about 30 days, provided they are well kept between 0o and 40oC in the refrigerator. But even at room temperature, it stays ‘fresh’ for two to three days.
“Our second objective is to reduce the weight by 40%. Hence, the burden of transporting matooke waste and their disposal costs in urban areas is curtailed. Matooke waste contributes 510 metric tones of the overall garbage in Kampala per day,†Bazirake observes.
He adds: “It costs urban authorities about sh13,000 per metric tonne of waste for disposal.â€
Therefore, reducing the bulk weight of matooke to the end user by 40% is cost-effective.
“Besides, every plantation that produces matooke is deprived of the organic manure from peels, leaves and stalks,†says Bazirake.
He notes that livestock in rural areas are also denied banana waste as feeds. The banana peels that make up 40% of the matooke are dried and used as ingredients in the production of livestock feeds. They are mixed with maize bran, soya bean, fish meal, bone ash, salt and vitamins.
The project also explores the possibility of getting biogas from banana waste. The fuel is projected to come from 5% of total matooke waste and spoilt matooke.
“The other item we make is matooke-based pickles, preserved with salt and vinegar. We are to use biotechnology cultures (Acetobacter and Glucanobacter) to produce vinegar from 2% of matooke waste and surplus,†says Bazirake.
“We also liaise with other innovators who can use our banana fibre (waste) to make biodegradable shopping bags,†observes Bazirake.
They have identified farmers in 16 districts to supply the matooke.
The project would also ensure food security. Banana losses and waste in tropical and sub-tropical Africa have been reported to be as high as 25%, yet matooke has become the most important crop worldwide.
Bazirake says when matooke is brought to the factory, it is manually sorted, weighed and peeled using hand peelers. It is then washed in tap water and immersed in sodium metabisulphate (distilled water solution) for 30 seconds, to inactivate enzymes responsible for browning (oxidation). It is then drained in a stainless steel mesh for five minutes, vacuum sealed and labelled.
Globally, Uganda has annual banana yields of over 12 million tonnes, ranking second in world production after India. Uganda is the world’s largest producer of matooke, yet ranks 70th in total banana trade.
“This shows that banana production in Uganda does not correlate with expected commercial returns. The vacuum-packed matooke can easily be exported,†says Bazirake.
Export product samples have been sent to the UK and Dubai, following the demand. Two promotional samples have been sent to the US and have been received with a lot of excitement. So far, four batches of 500 packs have been exported to the UK.
Bazirake says in Kampala, they have a monthly demand of 80 tonnes; in the US 20 tonnes; and in the UK, 50 tonnes.
“Currently, we produce and deliver 20 tonnes per week using our one 10-tonne refrigerated truck that commutes twice a week from Mbarara to Kampala. The packs are one kilo each. But we have placed an order for a 2kg and 5kg vacuum sealer,†he says.
In addition to supermarkets, they also intend to start supplying to hotels and schools.
The one kilogram packs have been presented at regional and international conventions in Kenya, Italy, Chicago, Boston and New York in the US.
Three public exhibitions were held during the National Science Week at the Commonwealth Speke Resort, Munyonyo, and at the Uganda Manufacturers Association showgrounds respectively. They received positive remarks.
Bazirake says they have also been able to acquire a refrigerated truck, service pick-up and other laboratory equipment.
The project was given part of Uganda Investment Authority’s land in Mbarara Industrial Park and has been able to put up a factory which opened on March 15 this year. The site was selected because of its proximity to the matooke-producing areas of western Uganda. Twenty-five people are currently employed in the factory.
Bazirake is a lecturer of food technology and biotechnology at Kyambogo University and works with Prof. Wilson Byarugaba of Kampala International University Western Campus.
Bazirake says he came up with the idea after UNESCO sponsored his research in 2001.
In 2006, President Yoweri Museveni contributed $2,000, which was used to purchase hand peelers. In the same year, he won the first Presidential Scientific Award at an exhibition in Munyonyo. It was then that he wrote a proposal to UNCST, which was approved in 2008.
They also got financial support from the Ministry of Finance in the financial year 2008/2009.
FREVASEMA is one of the projects funded by the Government under the presidential support to scientists through Uganda National Council for Science and Technology.