Title: Production and utilization scenario of apple pomace

Biography:

F.A. Masoodi is currently Dean School of Applied Sciences & Technology besides heading the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Kashmir, J&K, India. He obtained his higher education in Food Technology from some reputed agricultural institutes of India, which include GBPUAT, Pantnagar & PAU, India. He remained associated with four universities of India as faculty member and played a pioneering role in establishing departments of Food Technology at University of Kashmir (India) and CCSHAU, Hisar Haryana (India). He has supervised eight PhD scholars so far besides guiding many students for their post graduate dissertations. He has published around 170 research articles besides 4 book chapters. His research work has earned him more than 1900 citations with h-index and i-10 index of 24 and 58, respectively. He has done a pioneering work on utilization of apple pomace, a byproduct of apple processing industry. He has attended and delivered lectures in numerous conferences and seminars. He also holds the membership of various boards, viz: National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) working group on micronutrients, Research Advisory Committee of National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Karnal and National Agri-food Biotechnological Institute of India (NABI), to mention a few. Besides, he has been the member of Expert Panel on Food Additives, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of Health, Govt. of India.

Abstract

With an estimated production of 78.7 million metric tons in 2016/17, apple constitutes a major source of fruit globally. About 11.3 million metric tons are processed, in which the major share is contributed by juice production. Apple processing generates huge quantities of wastes in the form of skin, seeds and pulp, collectively referred to as apple pomace. This waste comprises about 20-30% of the initial apple weight, pointing towards the accumulation of a huge environmental burden. In 2010 alone, the global apple pomace production was expected to cross the mark of 3600 thousand tons. In India, total production of apple pomace is estimated to be about 1 million tons per annum. Compared to the global utilization of (25%-30%) of apple pomace, no commercial usage is found in India. Processing plants located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh, produce huge quantum of apple pomace which is not being utilized at present but is dumped in the fields as such. Apple pomace forms a base raw material for biofuel and biorefinery chemical production including phenolic compounds, pectin and fibre, organic acids, ethanol and enzymes, aroma compounds, natural antioxidants, biopolymers and pigments. Valorization of apple pomace for obtaining such compounds could therefore serve to lessen the environmental impact of the accumulated waste, and also to bring economic benefits. Attempts targeted at utilizing this waste as a source of dietary fiber, food, animal feed and biofuels have been carried by numerous researchers. Apple pomace could therefore be valorized, however requiring foremost consideration at this front.