Klojen (malangkota.go.id) – The Malang City Industry Service (Disperin) held a competition for making processed foods using purple sweet potatoes. This event is not only to spur the creativity of women and IKM (Small and Medium Industries) actors, but also to preserve various ancestral food heritages.
The Head of the Agro Industry and Forest Products Section of the Agro, Chemical, Food and Beverage Industry Sector of the Malang City Industry Service hopes that in the future these various processed food products can remain sustainable, be better known to the public, and the creativity of MSME players will increase so that they can penetrate the global market.
In the purple sweet potato-based food competition held in the Malang City Expo area which was held outside the Gajana Stadium, the participants presented a variety of food and beverage products that were quite unique and delicious.
"Currently, the competition has entered the final assessment stage. Purple sweet potato was chosen as the ingredient to make various types of bread and healthy drinks, because purple sweet potato is easy to get and the price is very affordable," he explained on the sidelines of the event, Thursday (12/04).
Through this event, he continued, it was also carried out to spur creativity and innovation of women and SMEs, especially those under the guidance of the Malang City Industry and Trade Office. "In addition, purple sweet potatoes are a source of ancestral food and must be preserved and passed on to the younger generation of the nation's successors," he added.
Furthermore, he said, the factors that are used to assess this competition include taste, initial idea of making, arrangement, packaging and presentation. Of the approximately 3.000 IKM actors in Malang City, 50 percent are registered and are being fostered by Disperin. "Various efforts such as mentoring, promotion and capital access assistance have been carried out by the Industry Office," explained Suswati.
"Through this competition, it is expected that IKM actors will continue to grow optimally, especially those using purple sweet potato as the basic ingredient, and their various products can penetrate the global market. On the other hand, this local food can be inherited by young people so that it can produce young professional IKM actors and have high competitiveness," he concluded. (say/yon)
