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CIRAD
VI
PINNOVATION
ALORISATION
&
en PARTENARIAT
No 3
April 2005
Editorial
CIRAD’s research teams are
currently adopting an integrated
approach to developing quality
tropical foods, aimed at helping
the agrifood industry to innovate
and agricultural producers to find
new markets. Our work is guided
by local knowledge and consumer
demand, and we work with the various
players in each commodity chain to
boost the agroindustrial sector in developing
countries.
The main objectives of our research in this
field are to make optimum use of biodiversity,
cut postharvest losses, reduce chemical
use for storage purposes and preserve
the nutritional and sensorial properties of
fruits during processing. Numerous results
have already been obtained and applied by
our partners in various countries: raw material
diversity characterization; development
of gentle stabilization, formulation and processing
technologies; alternatives to pesticides
for postharvest use; and food risk
prevention and integrated management
methods.
This type of partnership is crucial in determining
the research to be undertaken so
as to solve the practical problems faced
by tropical fruit producers, processors and
consumers. Do not hesitate to get in
touch if you would like to work with
us on these issues: maybe we can
break new ground together.
CIRAD and the aid operation in Asia after the tsunami
CIRAD has offered its services to the French government in the following ways: ❐ post-emergency
operations, helping NGOs and the authorities use the most appropriate modern techniques
to help affected families return to work; ❐ rehabilitation and forward planning, to
encourage development and local land use management geared towards boosting the
resilience of cultivated coastal ecosystems and the organizational capacity of the people
who live there. This second operation will involve research centres and universities
in the affected countries, as well as the French research centres CIRAD, IRD and
IFREMER.
Contact: alain.leplaideur@cirad.fr
CIRAD at the Paris International Agricultural Fair
CIRAD had a stand at the Paris International Agricultural Fair, from 26 February
to 6 March, on the topic “Family agriculture and the future”. 2005 is the Year
of Brazil in France, and the Fair provided the opportunity to promote CIRAD’s
work on this issue with EMBRAPA, a Brazilian agricultural research organization,
over the past 20 years or more.
Contact: anne.hebert@cirad.fr
The fruit and vegetable market observation service
The CIRAD market observation service, which conducts economic studies
and assists fresh and processed fruit and vegetable market operators, has
considerable experience in the European and international market places.
This service is backed up by the journal FruiTrop and by regular market
analyses (banana, orange, avocado, etc).
For more details, see http://passionfruit.cirad.fr/site_anglais/index_e.html.
Contact: denis.loeillet@cirad.fr
A citrus breeding project
With partners from the Mediterranean Basin, CIRAD has been granted EU
funding for an operation aimed at breeding citrus rootstocks that can withstand
the severe constraints in the region. The project centres on tolerance
of salt stress and ferric chlorosis associated with calcareous soils. Two
Mediterranean networks are to be set up to manage rootstock collections and
multi-site trials of new varieties.
Contact: patrick.ollitrault@cirad.fr
A project to promote under-used tropical fruits
Véronique Vissac-Charles
CIRAD Technology Transfer and
Development Coordinator
Along with European and South American partners, CIRAD has just been granted EU
funding to promote the Andes berry, tree tomato, pitahaya, prickly pear, naranjillo, cabbage
palm, camu-camu, cashew apple and peach palm. These fruits are of vital economic
importance for rural populations in South America. The project should help
develop fruit species biodiversity in the humid tropical zones of South America.
Contact: fabrice.vaillant@cirad.fr
ISSUE
TROPICAL FRUITS

Science
◗ CUTTING PESTICIDE USE IN FRUIT STORAGE
The lactoperoxidase system (LPS) is commonly used to store unpasteurized milk. The
enzyme lactoperoxidase, which is found naturally in milk, destroys a large proportion
of the bacteria in milk, and appears to be equally effective in the case of whole fruits and vegetables. By reducing the need
for postharvest anti-bacterial and anti-fungal treatments, the LPS also considerably reduces health risks for consumers.
CIRAD has tested the LPS on pathogens affecting bananas, which use a lot of pesticides. The trials were conducted in
conjunction with the TMI company, which produces Eau Activée ® , an industrial version of the LPS. The first results obtained
in Guadeloupe look promising. They are currently being validated under industrial conditions in Cameroon. The system is
also due to be tested on mangoes, pineapples and yams. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: marie-noelle.ducamp-collin@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: remy.hugon@cirad.fr
the impact of drying, cooking,
formulation and texturization
operations on nutritionally
valuable constituents
◗ PLANTAIN FRYING PROCESS
The frying process can be used to dry, cook, formulate or texturize
products, and there are ever-increasing volumes of fried foods
on the market. Demand is growing in the industrialized world for
these products to be characterized in nutritional terms: promoting
the fact that they contain worthwhile constituents or, on the contrary,
minimizing the occurrence of possibly harmful compounds.
CIRAD is working with IRD, the Institut de recherche pour le
développement and ENSIA, the Ecole nationale supérieure des
industries agricoles et agroalimentaires
to develop plantain frying
methods and investigate the impact
of drying, cooking, formulation
and texturization operations on
nutritionally valuable constituents.
Indeed, these constituents may be either removed (water-soluble
vitamins, minerals, etc) or transformed and denatured (vitamins,
carotenoids, etc) by frying, while toxic compounds (polyacrylamides,
free fatty acids, etc) may be generated. Recommendations
are to be made with a view to guaranteeing the nutritional
properties of such products while conserving the organoleptic
characteristics most appreciated by consumers, in developing
countries. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: philippe.bohuon@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: alain.bergeret@cirad.fr
◗ LOW-TEMPERATURE FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATION
Concentrating fruit juice reduces its water content by 90%,
cutting transport and storage costs. However, heat evaporation,
the conventional industrial technique, modifies the nutritional and
sensorial qualities of fruit juice, since it causes thermal degradation
and aromatic compound losses.
CIRAD is primarily working with the
Institut européen des membranes, in
France, and national research bodies in
Brazil and Costa Rica, to develop a new
cold-concentration process: osmotic evaporation. The challenge
is to offer manufacturers a simple concentration technology that
safeguards the intrinsic quality of the fruits. Under semi-industrial
conditions, the membrane technique produces concentrates at 65°
Brix, whose vitamin content and organoleptic quality are similar
to those of fresh juice. The process has been patented, and an industrial
transfer is under study. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: manuel.dornier@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr
a simple concentration
technology that safeguards
the intrinsic quality
of the fruits
Market
the lactoperoxidase system considerably
reduces health risks for consumers
ISSUE
TROPICAL FRUITS
◗ AMBARELLA JUICE QUALITY
Green ambarella-based drinks are very popular among consumers
in the French West Indies, by virtue of their sharp,
slightly astringent taste and green colour. They are one of
the leading products sold by Société nouvelle des yaourts
Littée (SNYL), a firm in Martinique that has a major share
of the French West Indian fruit juice market. However, they
do have some disadvantages: a variable starch content,
cold sedimentation of the starch they contain, alteration of
the initial greenish-yellow colour of the fruit, etc.
In conjunction with SNYL and the University of
Guadeloupe, CIRAD decided to
test enzymatic treatment of crushed
fruits, to break down the cell walls
and the starch in the ambarella
to produce pure juices
without added sugar,
and preserve fruit colour
fruits and thus improve juice quality. These treatments
should make it possible to standardize starch levels in the
end product, produce pure juices without added sugar, and
preserve fruit colour. The results obtained in the laboratory
are due to be tested on an industrial scale in Martinique
in 2005. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: severine.franquin@cirad.fr,
jean-marc.brillouet@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr

◗ FRESH FRUIT PACKING
Tropical fruits are fragile. Moreover, they are highly vulnerable to shock and diseases during export. Their postharvest shelf
life therefore needs to be improved in order to maintain quality.
CIRAD is studying ways of modifying the atmosphere around the fruits, so as to slow the
ripening process, using suitably permeable film. A modified atmosphere is achieved by balancing
fruit respiration intensity and packing film permeability. For instance, lychees in particular
very rapidly lose their red colouring once harvested, which is a considerable marketing handicap, and shipping
them by air, in film-wrapped trays, has given good results. These results have been validated under commercial conditions
by Compagnie Franco Suisse and Colis pays de la Réunion. Applications based on the same principle but wrapping the
fruits directly are currently being tested on mangoes. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: marie-noelle.ducamp-collin@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr
Technology
to slow the ripening process,
using suitably permeable film
◗ AROMA QUALITY OF ALCOHOLIC
DRINKS
The fruit-based alcoholic drinks sector has been
booming in recent years. L&L, based in Agen,
France, is a market leader, specializing in passionfruit
and cognac-based cocktails (“Alizée”
cocktail), and exports most of what it produces.
The firm is keen to guarantee consistent product
quality, and asked CIRAD to work on this aspect,
based on its experience of aromatic characterization
of fruit juices. The aroma quality of passionfruit
concentrates was analysed with a view to standardizing
end product quality. The study
enabled not only product quality
control, but also the identification of
several lots that did not satisfy the relevant
quality criteria. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: pierre.brat@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr
to study the interactions
between aroma, packaging
and the food matrix
Fried banana seller, Thailand.
© Cirad, G. Trébuil
◗ REDUCING AROMA LOSSES IN ORANGE JUICE
Packing orange juice in polyethylene teraphthalate (PET) bottles modifies
the aroma balance and causes overall degradation of the juice,
as PET is oxygen-permeable. This results in browning, a gradual
change in the aroma profile and a drop in vitamin C content.
Délifruits, a French firm specializing in aseptic cold-packing of
fruit juices in plastic containers, called upon CIRAD (in partnership
with ENSIA and INRA, the Institut
national de la recherche agronomique)
to study the interactions between aroma,
packaging and the food matrix with a
view to improving the quality of juice packed in this type of
container. The results should enable a rational choice of the type
of PET container (single or multi-layer, internally coated, etc),
depending on the quality and type of juice to be packed. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: pierre.brat@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr
the aroma quality of passionfruit
concentrates was analysed
with a view to standardizing end
product quality
◗ FRUIT CHIP PRODUCTION
Conventional frying techniques for making chips are only
suitable for products with a low moisture and reducing
sugar content and with high starch content, such as green
plantains or potatoes. Products with a high moisture content
have to be fried for a long time to ensure a crunchy
texture, and reducing sugars cause excessive browning.
CIRAD has developed a new process with a view to
using the technique for fleshy fruits and vegetables: ripe
fruit pieces are pre-dehydrated in an osmotic solution
containing either salt or sugar, and then flash-fried. It can
be used to make banana, pineapple or
kiwi chips with a low fat content, attractive
colour, crunchy texture and strong
fruity taste. The process has been
patented.
The process is currently being used by Caminos del
a low fat content,
attractive colour,
crunchy texture
Sol in Costa Rica. Industrial application is under way in
New Caledonia and Vietnam. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: fabrice.vaillant@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr
◗ MICROWAVE TREATMENT OF DATES
TO CONTROL INSECTS
Date exporting countries generally fumigate dates destined
for Europe with methyl bromide. However, this gas
is toxic to both humans and the environment, and was
banned in Europe this year.
CIRAD has developed a
this kills date pyralid eggs
and larvae, without leaving
any phytosanitary product
residues
replacement heat treatment,
microwaving the dates for
3 minutes at 65°C. This kills
date pyralid eggs and larvae,
without leaving any phytosanitary
product residues. The process has been
patented, and CIRAD is now in talks with several
European equipment manufacturers with a view to its
development. ■
SCIENTIFIC CONTACT: max.reynes@cirad.fr
COMMERCIAL CONTACT: jean-paul.meyer@cirad.fr

SIMACO
CIRAD and SIMACO have been working
for over 20 years developing tropical fruit
juice production lines, which are now
sold in numerous developing countries.
INTERVIEW with M. Heusser,
CEO of SIMACO.
What does SIMACO do?
The Société industrielle de matériel de conservation,
SIMACO, specializes in smallscale
fruit juice production equipment:
pressing, pasteurization, bottling, etc. This
equipment has traditionally been used for
temperate fruits, but we have worked with
CIRAD to adapt it to tropical fruits and tropical
conditions.
How did you hear of CIRAD?
We were chosen under an operation
launched by ENSIA to identify companies
capable of supplying
simple equipment for
use in tropical countries.
We took part in
an ENSIA forum at
the 1985 Paris International
Agricultural
Fair, which aroused
considerable interest.
That was where I met
Mr Estanove and
Mr Duverneuil from
IRFA, which is now
the CIRAD Fruit and
Horticultural Crops
Department (CIRAD-
FLHOR).
Why did you choose CIRAD?
It was all a matter of experience: Mr Estanove
had already worked on maracuja
juice production in Guadeloupe and
Mr Duverneuil knew an entrepreneur in
Burundi who was keen to increase his fruit
juice output. We signed a contract:
SIMACO was to adapt its fruit juice production
line to the conditions in Burundi,
provided IRFA ensured that it worked correctly.
With financial support from ANVAR
(Agence française de la valorisation), we
launched passion fruit juice production
operations at Bujumbura in 1987.
© SIMACO
VIP
the Technology Transfer and
Development Newsletter
CIRAD
Partner
SIMACO at a glance
Nationality: French
Status: limited company
Founded: 1983
Staff: 5 full-time and 3 part-time
Turnover: 460 000 euros in 2004
Field: fruit juice production equipment
You sell equipment all over the world. How
did you find your customers?
Word rapidly spread about this first smallscale
passion fruit production unit, and we
were flooded with similar requests! CIRAD
helped us pinpoint the most feasible ones,
and since then, we have sold more than
30 maracuja, citrus, pineapple, guava
and custard apple juice production lines
to Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Ghana, Congo, Cuba
and even China.
What are the results of
your work with CIRAD?
Above all, we have benefited
from CIRAD’s
experience in the field,
in terms of customers
and of the type of equipment
required: 80% of
our exports are to Africa.
CIRAD has started up
each new installation
and developed products
tailored to the target
market, with financial
support from the EC
Centre for the Development
of Enterprise. A
SIMACO line has been
installed in the CIRAD technology centre
in Montpellier for training purposes.
Do you have plans for any new projects?
We would like to adapt the equipment to
other fruits (pomegranate) and develop
processes using Flash détente®, to be integrated
into a complete high quality juice
or puree production line. We are also
looking at new types of packaging: polyethylene
terephthalate, bag in box, etc.
CONTACTS: simaco@wanadoo.fr
max.reynes@cirad.fr
Editor: Alain Weil, Director of Innovation and Communication
Coordination: Technology Transfer and Development Office
Editorial Committee: CIRAD network of Technology Transfer
and Development Coordinators
CIRAD, Direction de l’innovation et de la communication,
Délégation valorisation, avenue Agropolis, TA 173/04
34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
Tel: +33 4 67 61 57 72 • Fax: +33 4 67 61 75 37
For further information: www.cirad.fr
To receive CIRAD VIP free of charge by e-mail,
please register at vip-cirad@cirad.fr
Place
Martinique
CIRAD’s research
Rivière
Lézarde
operations have been
strengthened by the
setting up of the
Fort-de-France
Petit
Martinique agricultural
research
Morne
centre (PRAM).
The centre involves
human and technical resources from
CIRAD, CEMAGREF, INRA and IRD. It aims
to design modern, diversified, sustainable
and reproducible ecofriendly farming systems
that guarantee a satisfactory income
for farmers.
CIRAD IN MARTINIQUE
PRAM has a staff of almost 100, including
20 researchers (12 from CIRAD), 20 technicians,
10 graduate students, and other students.
It has very advanced scientific
equipment, which has been updated with
a view to certification. CIRAD is working
with its Caribbean research and development
partners on:
–banana: improving product competitiveness
and quality, reducing environmental
impact, broadening the range of
varieties;
–pineapple: optimizing crop management
sequences, marketing a new ecofriendly
pineapple variety, supporting the commodity
chain;
–fruit trees: citrus fruit growing, diversifying
and domesticating fruit tree varieties, integrated
fruit production, elite planting material;
–market gardening: controlling production
by growing sheltered crops, rational pest
control, broadening the range of varieties.
Diversification—new species and varieties,
innovative techniques—has a crucial role
to play in sustainable agricultural development
in Martinique.
CONTACT: thierry.goguey-muethon@cirad.fr
SPECIFIC EXPERTISE IN FRUIT QUALITY
Researchers are working to understand the
mechanisms behind banana and pineapple
quality. The sensorial characteristics of new
varieties are being assessed, along with cold
storage techniques with a view to exporting
pineapples. CIRAD is helping its partners
establish a project to characterize traditional
bananas in Martinique, based on the
production site. A “mountain banana” label
and a “Martinique banana” protected geographical
indication are also under study.
CONTACT: christophe.bugaud@cirad.fr