Each year in WA, it’s estimated 1500 tonnes of sandalwood nuts are left to waste, due to lack of markets for the product.
A $1.9 million project with the potential to turn currently discarded sandalwood nut waste into a highly sought after, valuable product was kickstarted today at a launch event at the State’s premier chemistry facility ChemCentre in Perth.
The five-year project funded by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre and managed by ChemCentre, working with the sandalwood industry, will focus on using certifiable chemistry to promote sustainable growth and profitability for Australian sandalwood plantation products.
Newly appointed ChemCentre Research and Innovation Manager, Dr John Moursounidis said the project heralded an opportunity to add significant value to the industry.
“Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) is a native commercial tree crop planted, often on marginal agricultural land, with more than 14 million trees established over 15,000 hectares in the WA Wheatbelt.”
“Industry development of the nut resource from these plantations represents the largest new native horticultural crop potential in WA,” said Dr Moursounidis.
Australian sandalwood nuts have some unique properties, typically oil rich, they contain a high proportion of a fatty acid known as Ximenynic (XA), which research has indicated has demonstrated nutritional value and potential therapeutic and health benefits, in particular anti-inflammatory effects.
“Aboriginal custodians have for centuries eaten the sandalwood nuts for relief from symptoms associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis and applied it topically to counteract joint stiffness.”
Under the project, specific attributes of WA plantation sandalwood nuts and essential oils will be certified to international standards, ensuring consumers can have confidence in the quality and authenticity of the product that they are buying.
ChemCentre has significant expertise in certifiable chemistry to meet regulatory manufacturing and Therapeutic Goods Administration requirements and international standards for export products.
Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre Chief Executive Officer Dr Steven Lapidge says the sandalwood project represents an excellent example of how the CRC works with industry, government and researchers to help reduce Australia's food waste through value creation.
"We are delighted to work with ChemCentre and the sandalwood industry on this project," Dr Lapidge says.
"Australia has set an ambitious goal of halving its food waste by 2030, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. The potential outcomes from this project underline the importance of collaboration in creating positive outcomes that have real social, economic and environmental benefits."
