OFSP puree and products: Puree Production and Products for Sweet Potato

Effortless sweet potato puree, every time!

The OFSP (Orange-fleshed sweet potato) puree technology involves the conversion of fresh sweet potato tubers into a stable and versatile puree. The process includes cleaning, steaming, peeling, and mashing or pureeing the sweet potato flesh. This results in a smooth and uniform puree suitable for various food applications. Vacuum-packed storage technology with preservatives extends the shelf life of the puree. Hygiene and food safety practices are maintained throughout the process.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

Women: Positive low

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

Environmental health: Does not improve environmental health

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Processing constraints: Labor-intensive and inconsistent processing methods limit the capacity of small-scale processors to convert OFSP roots into standardized puree and value-added food products.
Quality and food safety gaps: Limited standardization of processing and hygiene practices can result in inconsistent product quality and food safety.
Limited preservation and value addition: The short shelf life of fresh OFSP puree constrains storage and distribution, reducing opportunities for post-harvest value addition and sustained use of OFSP in food products.

Solution

Strengthened processing capacity: Standardized processing methods enable small-scale processors to efficiently transform OFSP roots into puree and value-added products.
Improved quality and food safety: Standardized processing and hygiene practices support consistent product quality and safer processing.
Increased value-addition opportunities: Vacuum packaging and appropriate preservation extend shelf life, supporting storage, distribution and sustained use of OFSP in value-added food products.

Key points to design your program

OFSP Puree Production and Value Addition transforms orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) roots into a nutritious, shelf-stable puree for use in a wide range of food products. The technology can be integrated into food security, nutrition, agribusiness, value chain development, women’s economic empowerment, and youth employment programs. Its adoption contributes to SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To integrate this technology into your project, plan and budget for the following activities and prerequisites:

Assess sweet potato production potential, processing gaps, nutrition challenges, and market opportunities in target areas.
Facilitate access to puree processing equipment, vacuum packaging systems, storage technologies, and energy solutions adapted to local processing conditions.
Support training for processors, cooperatives, women’s groups, and youth enterprises on puree production, food safety, hygiene, packaging, quality control, and equipment maintenance.
Invest in processing facilities, cold storage, and packaging infrastructure to improve product quality and shelf life.
Promote the use of OFSP puree in bread, cakes, baby foods, juices, snacks, and other food products to improve nutrition and diversify markets.
Support the participation of women and youth in processing, marketing, and food businesses linked to OFSP value addition.
Establish partnerships with CIP, research institutes, processors, bakeries, cooperatives, nutrition programs, and private sector actors to support scaling and sustainability.
Track key indicators such as post-harvest losses, quantity of puree produced, OFSP product sales, vitamin A consumption, jobs created, and farmer incomes.

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Mozambique	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Making sweet potato puree using technology to turn fresh, sweet potatoes into a smooth, mashed-up mixture.

Choosing Good Sweet Potatoes: First, we pick the best sweet potatoes that are fresh and not damaged.
Cleaning and Sorting: We wash the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt and check them for any bad spots.
Peeling and Trimming: We take off the tough outer layer and get rid of any parts that aren't good to eat.
Cooking: We use machines to cook the sweet potatoes until they're soft and easy to mash.
Mashing or Pureeing: After cooking, we use special machines to turn the sweet potatoes into a smooth mixture.
Straining (Optional): Sometimes, we filter out any bits that might make the mixture rough.
Checking for Quality: We make sure that the puree is really good quality and doesn't have anything extra in it.
Putting it in Packages: We then put the sweet potato puree into containers like cans, jars, or bags that keep it fresh.