IPB Students Develop Squid Ink as Food Supplement
Currently there is a rising demand of various health products, such as supplements, especially in workers community, to improve body immunity. Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) students discovered a new alternative of supplement products that follows the current food trend "Black Food" and utilizes squid (Cephalopod) ink waste.
The supplement product is named Deep Ocean Sephia Ink (DOSI), which was developed by Nurul Hikmatul Ain, Ella Dwi Nurwahyuni, Salmaa Septiana, Prayogi Ahmad Ismail, and Ulvi Qolivasari from Department of Aquatic Products Technology (THP), Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK), IPB. This innovation becomes the project of one finalist in Students Creativity Program of Entrepreneurship (PKMK) 2018, which is advised by Dr. Kustiariyah Tarman.
Salmaa told that their reason to utilize squid ink is because there are many functional components inside, not to mention that it is also easy to get and produce.
"Commonly squid ink in various industry is just wasted. After we know that there are many benefits in utilizing squid ink, we tried to develop it as a supplement. Coincidentally, we also managed to get fresh squid ink freely from its production place. Besides, the production of fresh squid ink is quite easy so it is very potential to be utilized as a business," said Salmaa.
Squid ink has many active compounds content, which can activate white blood cells, anti-cancer and anti-tumor, anti-microbes, antioxidants, and also can be used as a substitute for MSG. Unfortunately, there are only a few of people who are aware of these benefits.
The production process of squid ink was done as hygienic as possible, from the preparation which is done in production room, not in waste shelter, then the fresh ink bag is heated in an oven in 50oC for 24 hours. After it is dried up, the tink is moved to aluminium packaging, so that the product will consist of 100% squid ink.
"We were inspired from "Buyung Upik" jamu (herbal drink) for children, which is a powder that is mixed with ready-to-eat foods or to replace food seasonings. Even if there are many competitors for food supplement products, DOSI will be sold in an affordable price, which is IDR 5000 per pack, one is for two usages. Besides, we are following the Black Food trend, only healthier," Ain explained.
Ain said that the market response is very enthusiastic, and the majority of the consumers are workers. "Many of the consumers asked the production methods and benefits of our product. The target of DOSI is people from all ages, except for those who are allergic to squid. We recommend especially for workers which are vulnerable to physically exhausting working condition and stress to consume our product. So far, we only sell our product in Jabodetabek region through social media, bazaar, and online shopping sites," Ain explained.
The next move is to calculate the cholesterol content of this product, to know if this product has a high amount of it. Other things to do are developing the design and packaging size to be more interesting, asking for licenses, such as BPOM and PIRT, and developing the marketing with various events, such as cooking demo for housewives.
"We hope that this supplement can be more available in market because of its many benefits. Moreover, DOSI also helps to manage industrial waste whose benefits are not much known of," said Yogi. (Ard)
