Journal of Advances in Food Science & Technology

Single-use plastic cutlery is one of the most common forms of non-biodegradable solid waste worldwide, and there is a critical need for reusable substitutes and better alternatives to such cutlery. This study developed edible spoons and bowls using whole wheat flour, sago starch, white sesame seed powder, cinnamon powder, and a 1:1 blend of carrot and beetroot peel powders. Whole wheat flour was substituted with the combined peel powders at levels of 5% and 10%, and the optimum formulation was identified. The formulation incorporating 10% peel powder was considered optimum because of its better sensory acceptability, as determined by a 20-member panel using a 9-point hedonic scale. The optimised cutlery exhibited a mean spoon length of 7.14 ± 0.14 cm, a mean spoon weight of 4.31 ± 0.17 g, and a pH of 5.74. Based on colorimetric measurements, the values were L* = 41.35, a* = 0.46, and b* = 11.32, indicating a warm brownish colour. Functional properties included water-holding capacity (83%), oil-holding capacity (118%), and water-absorption capacity (81.5%). Proximate composition revealed protein (16.58%), carbohydrate (72.33%), fat (3.57%), crude fibre (2.86%), ash (1.78%), and moisture (2.88%), with an energy value of 387.78 kcal/100 g. The total phenolic content of the optimised peel-containing formulation was 1.057 mg GAE/g. Antioxidant activity, determined using the DPPH radical-scavenging assay, was higher in the 10% optimised formulation than in the base formulation, indicating that inclusion of the peel powders increased the antioxidative potential of the formulation. The results indicate that cutlery developed with root-vegetable peels may be considered an environmentally friendly, functional, and feasible alternative to plastic cutlery.