Development of a mechanised plantain slicer

Cutting of bulk plantains into chips for local and foreign markets is a processing method, which reduces post-harvest losses of green or ripening plantain. The traditional method of slicing plantain with a kitchen knife is laborious, time-consuming and prone to injury, and can only be practiced on a very small scale of production. The mechanised slicer seeks to reduce the drudgery associated with traditional cutting of large-scale plantains into chips. The machine takes 5-7 seconds to slice a finger of an average-size plantain into chips of 2-3mm in thickness compared to the 40-80 seconds with a kitchen knife, which gives non-uniform thickness of plantain chips. It was found to be very convenient, and the average thickness of plantain chips produced with the slicer compares favourably with commercial standards. Journal of Science and Technology Vol.24(2) 2004: 126-133