“Cribo”, Cricket-based Snack Bars for Athletes
Who would have thought that eating insects, especially crickets, is more common than you think? Crickets and other insects not only taste good, but are excellent for you. Crickets boast an excellent nutrient profile, providing a great source of lean protein, vitamins and minerals. It the reason a group of students of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), under the sponsorships of Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa bidang Kewirausahaan (PKM-K Student Creativity Program for Entrepreneurship) creating innovations by utilizing protein in crickets as high energy snack bar. Utilization of these crickets also supports the development of crickets as future alternative staple food. Snack bar is selected as a processed product because it is available in the market as a athletes food consumption and the general public.
As sports nutrition plays a key role in optimising the beneficial effects of physical activity, accordingly the development of sports in Indonesia must also be supported by various sport nutrition products. Making better decisions with their nutrition and hydration can result in improved performance, recovery and injury prevention. Most athletes have higher vitamin and mineral needs than the general public, they need high protein intake to help maintain their physical activities and maintaining their stamina.
Crickets are plenty in Indonesia, however its utilization as food has still not been tapped to any great extent. Only a few areas of Indonesia utilize crickets as a snack foods, and they good source of protein. The best way to cook a cricket is to saute it with garlic, olive oil and salt, or in some areas they made traditional pepesan food. The protein content of the Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex) is between 58 to 62.5 percent of the dry weight, with complete amino acid composition. Compared with beef, has almost triple the amount of protein present in sirloin, so it is good animal protein source. Other advantages in most of the insects that people farm they don't actually require a lot of space to farm crickets. This innovation is made by Hizkia, Lisa Aprilia, Mila Amelia, Mawar Wijayanti, and Vina Diana Sofia.
"We produced snack bar labeled “Cribo” (Cricket bar on the go). Hope “Cribo” can be a alternative beef substitution in Indonesia., Crickets and other insects are an alternative to animal protein and could be a sustainable way to reduce the effects of global warming. "said Hizkia, Chairman of PKM Team. The cricket-based snack bar is made of oat rolls, and dried fruit. The process of making a snack bar begins with the manufacture of cricket flour using an oven. It takes several times of bake and roasting process to get the desired cricket flour texture. After that, various ingredients are mixed and formed in pieces of stems. The “Cribo” snack bar is sweet and freshly taste.
“Cribo” product is marketed in 40 grams pack at a price of Rp.4000. They are a are available at most Sporting Goods Stores or Sports Center such as the IPB Gymnasium. "Currently we are establishing cooperative program with sport outlets in Bandung to market the products there," he explained. He hopes the creation of such product will promote crickets as source of protein in the daily diet. Not only do crickets add nutrition, they can provide livelihoods for those in developing countries. (Wied)
