Guyanese-invented natural produce preservative to reduce food loss, lower prices

Last Updated on Friday, 23 August 2024, 17:29 by Writer

A natural edible coating, which was invented by a Guyanese food scientist, that will extend the shelf-life of certain types of produce will be supplied to farmers and sellers to help reduce food loss and lower consumer prices, according to a senior official of the Guyana Economic Development Fund.

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Invented by Guyanese Food Scientist, Tandika Harry, the preservative named BeeStarch, has been validated by Guyana’s Government Analyst Food and Drug Department, and Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in the United States (US), and was now being manufactured in the US. “The product has been optimised through international manufacturing and is ready for use,” said Ms Oslene Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of both the US-based Guyana Economic Development Trust (GEDT) and the locally-registered Guyana Economic Development Fund.

She said the product would soon be shipped to Guyana for use by farmers and middlemen and applied under supervision. “Through the phenomenal collaboration with USAID, a funding partner of ours, and through the CAPA (Caribbean Agricultural Productivity improvement Activity) programme, we’ll be piloting the large scale application of the BeeStarch product,” she said. Ms Carrington added that the product would be applied under supervision by CAPA representatives and Ms Harry “to ensure the product is applied as it should be.”

The GEDT official said the post-harvest preservative would target cassava but would also work on mango, papaya and pineapple. “The reason we’re doing this on cassava is because not long ago, Guyana wasn’t producing that much cassava beyond that which we consume,” she said, adding that Guyana was emerging as a large cassava producer to the credit of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Then a University of Guyana student, Ms Harry invented the product to preserve produce by up to 18 days without refrigeration.

Data obtained in 2016 shows that up to 40 percent of produce spoils before it gets to market, resulting in food loos and higher prices.