P2269@com.qz.se ("ENG-LEONG FOO ", MIRCEN-STOCKHOLM) (05/10/89)
Director: Prof Carlos Rolz Address: Central American Research Institute for Industry (ICAITI) Guatemala City Guatemala. Coffee pulp is one of the main agricultural by-products in the region and has therefore received substancial attention on its disposal problems. The pulp is high in moisture and readily fermentable. ICAITI in 1987 organized the "3rd International Symposium on Integral Utilization of Coffee Processing By-products" and "Symposium on Biotechnology for Biomass Production and Waste Treatment. ICAITI has also conducted research to consider using coffee pulp as a soil conditioner, as a fuel for drying of coffee beans, for the extraction of caffeine and pectin, and as an animal feed. Coffee pulp can be used as a supplement in animal fodder but if used as a direct feed, the caffeine and polyphenols in the pulp can cause problems when ingested in high amounts by animals. A Costa Rican plant is dehydrating the coffee pulp after neutralization and then screw pressing it. This has been sucessfully used as a supplementary feed for milking cows. Solid fermentation using a fungi has been used by ICAITI for protein enrichment. Mushroom cultivation with a macrofungi has also been considered.