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Technoscience

Cashew residue snacks

Crisp, appetizing, and, above all, healthy. These are the nutritional characteristics of the snack or chips-like appetizers made from cashew residue and cracked rice by Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. The company has developed techniques that put these two sub-products to good use, though they are often thrown away by the industries, and turn them into tasty and cheap food. Just the cashew juice industry alone throws away a million tons of residue a year, most of it in the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte. The cracked rice, when it is not thrown away, is used in animal feed and in the brewing industry. In accordance with the industrial process developed by Embrapa, both the residue and the cracked rice are transformed into flour and used in home or industrial recipes, as well, for the production of bread, cookies and cakes. The cashew residue flour, which has a higher fiber level than other kinds, has shown good results in recipes also made with flour from wheat. The development of the products was carried out by two of the company’s units, Embrapa Food Technology, in Rio de Janeiro, and Embrapa Tropical Agro-industry, in Fortaleza. They offer consultancy and technical support to those interested in this new agribusiness.

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