Waste Management in Fruit and Vegetables Processing Industry

Waste management includes collection, transportation, processing, recycling or disposal and monitoring of waste matters. It is utmost important for protecting environment and public health. It is also used to recover value added products. Waste material generated from food processing and food service facilities can present treatment problems as they contain large proportions of carbohydrates, proteins, fat and mineral salts. Organic matter of the wastes must be subjected to biological stabilization prior to their disposal. Improper disposal of waste materials as practiced traditionally, is not only harmful but also uneconomic owing to unavailability of valuable components. Incineration is a commonly used method of waste disposal but it also generates toxic gases. Processing of fruit and vegetables generates varying level and kinds of wastage that can be managed differently. They can be used in composting, cattle feeding and biogas generation and certain types may also be utilized in production of value added products. With the rapid progress in establishment of agro-processing industries in our country on account of liberal government policies, the importance of waste management has become an essential and integral part of plant design as the inappropriate disposal of wastage has already caused great loss to environment and public health. Food processing is a capital intensive, high energy and water consuming, and moderate to highly polluting industry. However, one can minimize adverse effects on environment and public health and may also augment profit of processing unit by judicious disposal and utilization of waste materials.