LETTER: The consumption of fruits and vegetables is essential for the sustainability of human health. Besides their beautiful colours and delicious tastes, fruits and vegetables consist of fibre and compounds that help in digestion, as well as antioxidant and anti-microbial activities.
With the advancement of technology, people are now aware of the variety of fibre products sold in the market that originates from fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the production trends and agricultural exports have been on the rise over the years (see graphic).
The year 2000 was known as a century leap year, which saw the United States and India progressively increasing their exports of agricultural products.
In 2005, the US's exports were worth US$83 billion, while India emerged the 22nd largest exporter of agricultural products valued at US$10.1 billion.
In Malaysia, meanwhile, the import value of food and agricultural products indicated an uphill trend. The rise in demand is unfortunately linked to the accumulation of agricultural waste as well. It is estimated that 998 million tonnes of agricultural waste are generated annually.
Furthermore, it has been found that agricultural waste has a strong correlation to the size of the population.
Hence, in the coming years, the community and the government may face major problems if proper waste management is not implemented.
Effective waste management is essential to sustain the environment. This includes recycling. By recycling agricultural waste, including fruit and vegetable peels, seeds, stalks, husks, brans, straws, stovers, bud ends, leaves and crowns, excessive waste accumulation can be reduced, in addition to lowering national expenditure in waste management.
The value of this waste is beyond our expectations. The richness of polyphenol compounds, nanocellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, pectin, gelatine and activated carbon is remarkable.
Studies on diverse types of agricultural waste show that it has great potential:
ANTIOXIDANT activity;
ANTIMICROBIAL activity;
CANCER prevention;
NATURAL additive for composite polymeric matrices;
PAPER production;
BIODEGRADABLE film;
ACT as absorbent in the process of decolourisation and metal removal in wastewater;
FILLER materials for biocomposite; and,
COMPLEMENT in concrete.
Hence, agricultural waste should not be seen as "just a waste". It has valuable components and great opportunities to steer the world towards an eco-friendly environment while securing green earth sustainability.
DR RASEETHA VANI SIVA MANIKAM
Senior Lecturer, Food Science and Technology Programme, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM, Shah Alam, Selangor
NUR FARHANA ADILAH ROSLAN
Master Student, School of Food Science and Technology Programme, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM, Shah Alam, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times