
ARS Seeks
Business Partners for Pectin Making and Other TechnologiesBy Kim Kaplan November 5, 2001Pectin, an important food processing
ingredient, could be made domestically instead of overseas for the first time
in a decade, if a business partner to license new technology can be found by
the Agricultural Research Service. Each year, the United States imports more than 7 million pounds of pectin at
a cost of $6 to $12 per pound as a gelling agent in jellied foods and as a
texturizing agent in premixed yogurt. Researchers at the Crop Conversion Science and Engineering Unit, part of
ARSs Eastern Regional Research
Center in Wyndmoor, Pa., have patented a microwave- based method to
economically extract high quality pectin from orange peels for the first time. Unlike lemon and lime peels, which are the common source of pectin and not
available in large amounts in this country, orange peels are an abundant,
low-cost byproduct of the U.S. orange juice industry. Most orange peels
currently are used as low-value animal feed. Now, ARS is seeking businesses to put to work the new pectin technology and
others it has developed. Since research results are patented, ARS can offer a
license to a private company to bring a product to market. ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agricultures chief research agency. It is also a leader among federal
agencies and departments in commercial licenses and cooperative research
agreements. Other ARS technology available for license can be found at: http://ott.ars.usda.gov Story contacts Crop Conversion Science and Engineering U.S. Department of Agriculture |