T

he world’s population now stands at 7.6 billion people and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. The challenge is clear. The world needs to increase food production. To meet projected demand, cereal production will have to increase by nearly 50 percent and meat production by 85 percent.

The Global Nutrition Report 2017 indicated that, despite a decade of progress, the number of people going hungry has increased to 815 million people from 777 million in 2015.

That number is moving in the wrong direction and raises questions about the global commitment of countries to end malnutrition by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Being the fourth-most populous country (with 261 million people), Indonesia faces the same challenge. Indonesia is rich is natural resources and needs to develop a food policy toward greater diversification, not only to be less dependent on rice, but — more importantly — to improve nutrition. Indonesia has many options as alternatives for rice.

One of them is sago — a starchy food produced from the sago palm — which is currently underutilized. Not only can the sago palm be used as an invaluable source of starch, it can also be used as a raw material of innumerable products of significant commercial value.

Starchy foods are generally staple foods and are consumed worldwide as sources of energy. Furthermore, the starch may be extracted to be used as an ingredient that plays a critical and unique role in the food industry and other industries.

For the food industry, starches are used not only as a core ingredient, but also as a valuable ingredient or additive to enable shelf-stable foods to maintain the proper textural characteristics during processing (freezing, thawing, cooling, heating, etc.) and storage. Outside the food industry, natural (native), modified starches and/or starch derivatives can be found in products and processes in the consumer product, pharmaceutical, energy, industrial and chemical sectors.

According to Starch Europe (2016), the global starch market is approximately 72 million tons, with the United States and China as the world’s largest producers, followed by the EU and Thailand.

Generally, starch is marketed in the form of native starches, modified starches and starch derivatives (such as sweetener), as an ingredient for food and feed and for non-food applications.

Its global market is expected to grow significantly over the next seven years amid the growing use in processed foods, beverages and pharmaceutical goods. The market for modified starch, for example, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.1 percent from 2013 to 2018.

Starch-based ingredients are widely used in food and non-food industries. The growing demand of starch-based ingredient is currently filled by corn, tapioca, potato and wheat as the main raw materials. Corn, tapioca, potato and wheat are also traditionally used as staple food in many countries. This creates a problem for the global starch industry, not only from a quantity aspect (supply), but also from an economic aspect (price). In fact, the most significant cost for the starch industry is the cost of agricultural raw material from which the starch is extracted.

To maintain its competitiveness, the EU starch industry imports raw material from other countries. Consequently, the growth of the global starch industry may be hampered by a shortage of raw material. This concern has triggered efforts to find alternative sources of raw material for the global starch industry.

The potential of sago (Metroxylon sagu Rottb) as an alternative source of raw material for starch is huge. This is a huge opportunity for Indonesia, considering that 51.3 percent of the world’s sago grows in Indonesia, mostly in Papua, where the sago palm has grown naturally for centuries.

In Papua alone, the sago starch production potential amounts to 24.4 million tons per year. However, the current utilization rate is only about 186,000 tons per year, less than 1 percent of the potential.

Starches are essential ingredients of many products, either in their natural form (native starch) or as modified starch and/or as starch derivatives. Native sago starch, produced by extraction, may undergo a modification process to produce modified starch with improved functionality (nutritionally, chemically and/or physically).

Sago starch may also be processed to produce starch derivatives with certain desired chemical and/or physical properties for specialty applications. Starch-derived sweetener is one example of highly demanded starch derivative ingredients.

Sago starch will be largely absorbed by the food industry, not only as a main ingredient, but also as a high-value ingredient or additive, due to its special characteristics. Starches have thickening and solidifying properties, they maintain the water balance in food, including in bakery and pastry products, noodles and pasta, soups and sauces, puddings, processed meats, and snacks. Starch-based ingredients may be used as taste or color enhancers and fat substitutes for diet products. Moreover, due to its saccharification property, sago starch may also be used to manufacture glucose, fructose and its derivatives.

In non-food industries, sago starch may be used in the production of paper, textiles, glue and alcohol. In the paper industry, a surface treatment using a starch solution increases surface smoothness, improves the appearance, increases the strength and prevents water penetration into the paper. In textiles, starch is used to make yarn smoother and less fluffy, while increasing its tensile strength. In glue, starch — especially dextrin and oxidized starch — is an important ingredient. In the energy sector, attention has been given to processing starch to alcohol.

In line with the “green” movement, demand for starch-based ingredient may continue to increase. Sago starch may be in great demand for the development of biodegradable and other “green” products. Development of biodegradable plastics (polylactic acid), lactic acid, bio-detergents, bio-colorants, bio-pharmaceuticals and many fine chemicals may drive future demand for sago starch.

Consequently, the future of sago palm is very promising. To turn the great potential of sago into reality, intensive, coordinated and concerted efforts are needed. This includes addressing the technical, logistical and technological aspects — and sustainability — in establishing a sago-based industry in Indonesia.
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The writer is a lecturer at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) and vice chairperson of Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO/WHO.