On 25th August 2024, the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s (UNM) School of Biosciences organised the Underutilised Crops Food Product Innovation Competition. Held in Taman Medan Cahaya, Petaling Jaya, this competition brought together women entrepreneurs from the ASSESSCROP Phase 2 project, showcasing their culinary mastery and ingenuity by using underutilised crops in creative and resourceful ways. As part of the School of Biosciences' ongoing efforts to promote sustainability through innovative agricultural practices, the event featured 15 inventive platters made from often-overlooked parts of crops, including moringa, butterfly pea flower, keladan fruits, turkey berry, passion fruit, split gill mushroom, ambarella, sentul fruit, and soursop. These innovative dishes demonstrated not only the nutritional value of these crops but also their potential to diversify the modern diet.
Congratulations to our winners: Noridayu binti Sulaiman, for her Moringa Chapatti; Nor Hafizah binti Abu Hassan, for her Moringa Murukku; and Maimizan binti Dzulkapli, for her Sweet and Sour Dried Jelly. Special gratitude is also extended to Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), Women of Will (WOW), and our esteemed judges for their invaluable contributions, which were instrumental in driving the success of this event.
Three acclaimed judges evaluated the platters not only for their creativity but also for their marketability, commercialisation potential, and the possibility of integrating them into modern food trends and diets. The judging panel included Dr Anita Chakrabarty, Associate Professor of Marketing at UNM; Encik Wan Mohd Hafiz Bin Wan Daud, Head of Department for Education at University College Sedaya International (UCSI); and Encik Ritakamal Sadiman, Business Counsellor and Trainer at the National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN).
Through their creativity and culinary skills, the women entrepreneurs of ASSESSCROP highlighted the potential for developing nutritious and diversified food items, emphasising the role of innovation in agriculture and food sustainability. The competition also underscored the growing concern over agricultural waste, which is a significant issue within the industry. By employing crop parts that are frequently discarded as waste, the participants showcased the overlooked potential for extracting nutritious benefits from these plants. In combating food waste, the event sought to demonstrate how these crops could be transformed into mouth-watering, marketable food items.
Posted on 12th September 2024