USM, PENANG, 14 November 2017 – Innovation has its own beauty in creating or producing something magnificent that can be benefitted by consumers.

Kudos to the final-year students of the School of Industrial Technology at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for their efforts in developing food products made from local fruits and vegetables, which have been proven as delicacies, and at the same time filled with nutritional values.

With the theme ‘Innovation from Local Fruits and Vegetables,’ a total of 45 final-year students were divided into eight groups, and presented the concept of their new food product, sensory and food analysis, HACCP plan, packaging and marketing strategy.

Among the food products that have been showcased at the Food Product Development Exhibition 2017 here today were:

Nangkaya – vegan consumers should take note of this innovation simply because it is made from jackfruit flesh and tofu as a substitute for eggs, coconut milk, sugar and salt. Experience the new flavour of jackfruit kaya, along with the traditional/original and pandan flavours in the market!

Krautzel – a healthy snack, added with 'belalai gajah' juice and powder. 'Belalai gajah' is an underutilised herb in Malaysia. Recently, it has attracted public attention due to its medicinal properties. The innovativeness of this product is in the incorporation of this traditional herb into a pretzel, as there is no herb-based snack sold yet currently in the market. Besides, this product is also coated with a layer of white chocolate to enhance its taste. Furthermore, it has no preservatives, colouring and flavouring added during the processing of the product!

La Graine Honeydew Seed Milk – it is an innovative dairy-free milk derived from honeydew seeds. It is intended as a ready-to-serve product and which is also suitable as an ingredient in preparing meals. This dairy-free milk provides alternatives other than vegan milk that is currently available in the market such as soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and coconut milk. Thus, it is suitable for general consumption, more so for vegan and lactose-intolerant consumers. Besides, no preservatives, artificial flavouring and colouring are used to produce this honeydew seed milk.

This annual event provides the opportunity for Food Technology students to compete for the innovative new food product of the year and share what they have learned with the public at large, and at the same time, help to increase the visibility and impact of the USM Food Technology Programme.

It is also hoped to attract potential companies and industry related to food technology that might provide funding for further R&D&C work of such products.

Indirectly, it also helped to promote awareness and exposure to the younger generation towards entrepreneurship, and help them to be competitive at the international level.

The Dean of the School of Industrial Technology, Professor Dr. Azhar Mat Easa officiated the opening ceremony of the exhibition. 

Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias & Tan Ewe Hoe