Food & Agriculture
Through lucrative, the local mango industry faces significant challenger, most
notably postharvest losses due to the perishability of the fruit, which has a shelf
life of only 10 days. In order to minimize these losses and revitalize the mango
industry as part of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) fiver-year mango
roadmap, the researchers developed and improved products using the DOST-
HITS processing technologies for mango preservation. With funding from the
DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research, this study used response surface
methodology to optimize several methods of food processing: osmotic
dehydration, vacuum frying, cabinet drying, pickling, and a combination of
dehydration and vacuum frying, and dehydration and cabinet drying. Three types
of local mangoes were used, namely ‘Carabao’, ‘Katchamita’, and ‘Pico’. Different
varieties were utilized to test the viability of mango cultivars other than carabao,
which is the most common type currently produces in the country. Developing a
wider range of products using various mango varieties can potentially increase the
fruit’s market and export value. At the same time, improving preservation
techniques can help reduce problems caused by the oversupply of mangoes and
the underutilization of some mango cultivars.
The study’s optimized mango processing technologies may be adopted by the
Philippine mango industry, particularly mango growers and entrepreneurs, in
order to address postharvest losses and open opportunities for an expanded range
of marketable products for both local consumption and export.
Funded by: DA-BAR | UP Diliman TTBDO
30 | UP Diliman SALIKSIKHAY