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Guava is a well known fruit of Bangladesh whose production and demand is increasing day by day. At present, about 2.86 lakh metric tons of guava is produced in about 97.81 thousand acres of land (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2019), most of which is eaten as fresh fruit. Although it is available as a fresh fruit for almost a year, it is safe to say that there is no processed product on the market other than conventional jelly. Again the jelly that exists in the market is inadequate everywhere. Therefore, under the project titled AFACI-APPT, Bangladesh funded by the Korean government, quality products have been developed by the Department of Post-Harvest Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur through multipurpose processing of guava. Each of the processed products available in the market is made using one or another chemical and preservative. But current research by food scientists, nutritionists and medical scientists shows that the use of synthetic chemicals and preservatives can cause side effects in any part of the human body (Mollah et al., 2016). The level of processed products available in the market shows that food processing companies are using E-numbers for their commercial interests without directly using the names of synthetic chemicals and preservatives which is difficult for the common man to understand.
Sodium benzoate and potassium metabisulfite preservatives are both used by food processing companies in the same product that can be used even if not used simultaneously. Any one of these we can use as a preservative. Considering the current demand and health of the people, the Department of Posthurst Technology, BARI, Gazipur has been able to produce guava jelly without synthetic chemicals and preservatives which is known as guava natural jelly. Made with natural ingredients, its shelf life is 6-7 months. Its nutritional analysis shows that for every 100 grams of jelly, vitamin-C is 34.18-343.01 mg, total phenolic acid is 4.01-4.15 mg-gallic acid and total antioxidant capacity is 104.40-109.11 ascorbic acid. / Gram, which will be able to play a role in alleviating the risk of cancer, acute liver injury and coronary heart disease by destroying the existing Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in the body.
