IPB Students Create Healthy Biscuit from Zalacca Seed

Generally we eat zalacca only its fruit. The seed throws and become organic waste. Zalacca seeds have high antioxidant 12,06% DDPH. The research about zalacca quality and benefit has been done, but the implementation in food or something else is still few.

Five Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) students process zalacca seeds become  powder to make healthy biscuit. They are Alvin Jefry, I Kadek Fendy Lesmana P, Ni Putu Indah Purnami, Khairil Irsyad, and Irena Ivania.

“People nowadays want multipurpose, including the food. People like to consume snack and other meals but not followed by invented healthy snack. Almost 70 percent snack around people does not have good nutrition, contains flavoring, also preservative. Then, we try to use zalacca seed waste become full nutrient food but very economic,” Alvin says, the Master mind of zalacca seed biscuit.

Alvin and the colleagues try to invent healthy biscuit that is rich of antioxidant by zalacca seed (Salacca zalacca). They call them Bibis (Biskuit Biji Salak or in english Zalacca Seed Biscuit) as one of the Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa Bidang Kewirausahaan (PKMK) Tahun 2018..

Under the guidance by Drh. Dordia A Rotinsulu, MSi, researcher from Animal Veterinary Faculty IPB, the five students succeed to create healthy zalacca seed biscuit in 3 flavours that copy from the color of horse. The flavors are chesnut (original), skewbalt (chocolate), and strawberry-roan (strawberry).

Planning ahead, Alvin and the colleagues will promote this unique biscuit to people by using social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Line, and Whatsapp. “Also, we are going to give tester product to people as our selling strategy,” he says.

According to Alvin, Bibis can help fulfill healthy snack needs in Indonesian busy people. “Bibis is suitable to sell since containing natural ingredients, safety, and natural-based by using zalacca seed wastes,” he says.

Alvin and the colleagues hope their PKM program can continue because this really helps students to create something also entrepreneurship. “We hope our business can continue and can open work field for people, especially for zalacca farmers,” Alvin adds. (NR)