
New Procedure Lets Industry Use More Citrus PeelBy Doris Stanley February
26, 1998About 95 percent of Florida's citrus crop is processed into juice and other
products. This creates mounds of orange and grapefruit peel, some of which is
candied and sold as a delicacy. But 25 percent of the peel used for candying is discarded because the
industry's candying process produces undersized pieces. Now, scientists with the
Agricultural Research Service in Florida
have solved this problem by developing a simple, new procedure to reformulate
the undersized pieces into uniform strips that appeal to consumers. The
procedure allows industry to use 100 percent of the peel. Paradise Fruit Company in Plant City, Fla., is test-marketing the ARS
procedure. This company is a division of Paradise, Inc., which is responsible
for about 80 percent of the candied citrus peel produced in the United States.
Chemist Robert A. Baker led development of the new process at ARS'
Citrus
and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven, Fla. Candied orange peel is one of 15 products being presented to the House
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and
Related Agencies today as examples of ARS research technology transferred from
the lab to industry. Scientific contact: Robert A. Baker, USDA-ARS
Citrus
and Subtropical Products Laboratory, Winter Haven, FL 33881, phone (941)
293-4133 ext. 120, fax (941) 299- 8678,
[email protected]. Product List: A list describing the products presented to the House
subcommittee can be obtained from Tara Weaver,
ARS Information Staff. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |