Universitas Brawijaya (UB) Doctoral Service Team which is chaired by Prof. Dr. Widya Dwi Rukmi Putri, STP, MP from FTP provided assistance and guidance to PT. Sumber Pangan Lestari Jaya as a producer of banana flour to be able to improve its quality and production capacity. PT SPL Jaya has been approached by many food and animal feed industries to be able to buy its products in large quantities, but it is often difficult to meet demand because production capacity is still limited.
Banana flour is a processed banana product which has great potential as a raw material for various food and non-food products (animal feed). Banana flour for consumption can be used as a raw material for cakes, puddings, ice cream and also prebiotic drinks because of its nutritional content. As animal feed, banana flour produced can increase livestock productivity.
To help increase production, DM team member, Dr. Ir. Sandra Malin Sutan, MP is trying to make modifications to her punching equipment so that it works more efficiently. In addition, FEB Lecturer, Dr. Wuryan Andayani, SE, CA, CSRS, CSRA helps with bookkeeping for industry so that it can calculate production costs and profits if production capacity is increased. Dr. Eng. Budi Darma Setiawan from FILKOM helped create a website that was easy for users to browse so that PT SPL Jaya’s banana flour products would be better known to its advanced industry users. Team member Mokhamad Nur, S.TP, MS, PhD is also trying to improve the design and quality of the packaging. So the shelf life of the product is longer and it is not damaged during distribution and storage.
PT SPL Jaya involves the local community as partners to help in the production of banana flour. Banana raw materials are mostly obtained in Lampung, so Mr. Lestari Widodo as leader also plays a role in developing Lampung community to produce dried banana chips. Meanwhile, the siege process was carried out in Ngawi, which also involved local community groups.
“The potential for expanding marketing to the food industry and even exporting enough banana flour produced by this industry is quite large so assistance is needed to produce higher quality banana flour for consumption in addition to increasing marketing,” said Prof. Widya.
This activity also involved students who conducted research on processed products from banana flour and also students who did internships to improve their website. [FTP UB/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
