In Cameroon, agrofood waste biomass such as peels of Musa paradisiaca and Musa acuminate is being valorized using various traditional processing methods to produce a traditional functional food salt, potash, locally called nikkih. Nikkih has been reported to have varying physicochemical and functional properties, which negatively affect the quality and stability of food prepared using it. This work aims at evaluating the effect of traditional process methods on the physicochemical and functional properties of nikkih produced from these peels in view of the optimization of the process. The peels were preprocessed using two methods: boiling at 90oC before drying and direct drying of raw samples. All samples were dried and combusted to ash at varying temperatures of 250oC, 300o C, and 350oC and times of 30 min, 60 min, and 90 min. The ash obtained was dissolved in varied volumes of water, filtered to obtain the nikkih. Yellow achu soup was prepared through the dry gum method using water and read palm oil, with nikkih as emulsifier. The physicochemical and functional properties of nikkih on yellow achu soup were evaluated using standard methods. The ash yield ranged from 10.62 ± 0.12% to 7.10 ± 0.05%, with the raw samples combusted at 3000C and 2500C having the highest and lowest values respectively. The pH of nikkih ranged from 10.95 ± 0 to 12.01 ± 0.056 while potash content ranged from 32.45 ± 0.905% to 72.29 ± 1.31%, with the highest and lowest values obtained from the raw sample combusted at 2500C and the boiled samples combusted at 3500C respectively. Alkaline content ranged from 61.7 ± 0.141% to 52.8 ± 0.141%, with boiled M. acuminate combusted at 3500C having the highest value and the lowest from raw M. paradisiaca combusted at 2500C. The foaming capacity and foam stability ranged from 6.9 ± 0.01% to 16.07 ± 2.51% and from 3.20 ± 0.07% to 11.205 ± 2.39% for M. acuminate and M. paradisiaca respectively. The emulsification index ranged from 85.62 ± 0.09% to 86.67 ± 1.141% after 24 hrs and from 26.0 ± 0.94% to 27.02 ± 2.390% after 48 hrs, with the highest value from the raw M. acuminate combusted at 350oC and the lowest from that combusted at 3000C. The potash source, pretreatment method, combustion conditions, and dilution factors all had an effect on the physicochemical and functional properties of nikkih.

Agricultural production, agro-industrial food processing, distribution and consumption generate high Amounts of varied food by-products and waste which place a heavy burden on the environment and cause losses to the food industry. The most common disposal methods of food wastes are the use of landfills and incineration, which lead to several environmental, social, and economic issues. However, many of these by-products and wastes have been reported to be higher than the final product in terms of nutritional or functional properties, making them potential raw materials for application in the agro-food industry. Together with the recent sustainable development goals of food security, environmental protection, and energy efficiency, these are the key reasons why food waste valorization is necessary. Valorization of food waste within the bio-economy approach offers an economical and environmental opportunity that can serve as a solution to the issues faced with the conventional disposal methods. Traditionally, in Africa, especially in Cameroon, food by-products and waste have been valorized into a range of products for application in food and food preparation, including food additives and spices, food emulsifiers and stabilizers, food salts and nutraceuticals. Traditional Waste valorization methods could achieve sustainable development in technologically underdeveloped countries by going beyond improving agro-food waste management to the production of useful biochemicals, food ingredients and food products, which can be referred to as value added products from waste. In addition, the processing and conversion of these agro-food by-products and waste generated in the poor regions of the world for the production and formulation of novel foods and biochemicals will directly benefit the local communities by reducing environmental pollution and increasing income in the food industry. This review aims at providing insight into current trends in food waste valorization using traditional methods in an African country such as Cameroon. This paper presents the variety and type of food waste within the food chain that can be valorized into various products using traditional methods. Furthermore, a series of examples of key food waste valorization schemes and value added products as case studies to demonstrate the advancement in traditional bioconversions are described, bringing out the opportunities and challenges for the Cameroon bioeconomy.