*Corresponding author: kamalbhella@pau.edu
Cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz), a perennial shrub is cultivated mainly by resource-limited small farmers for its starchy roots. It is used as a human food either fresh when low in cyanogens or in many processed products, mostly starch, flour and for animal feed. Because of its inherent tolerance to stressful environments, where other food crops fail, it is often considered as a food-security source against famine, requiring minimal care. Cassava flour and starch may act as potential valuable substitutes of maize, rice and wheat crops. The benefits ranged from being a human staple food, constituent of animal feeds, raw material in food processing, edible coatings, paper making industry, indigenous alcoholic beverages to ethanol production. The vast production of cassava under marginal soil conditions can be explored in order to maximize its potential as an industrial crop for interested entrepreneurs. All these aspects have been reviewed here especially with respect to food and fermentation industry.
Cassava, starch, flour, edible coating, adhesive, baked products, biofuel
