The competition was held in collaboration with the Faculty of Agricultural Technology Institut Pertanian Bogor (FATETA IPB) and the Food Engineering Student Association (HIMIPETA) together with SEAFAST and Nestlé. This year's competition was themed "Preventing Indonesia's Major Health Issues through the Development of Plant-Based Food and Beverage for Teen, Adult, and Senior".

Based on that theme, the three students innovated to create a spirulina microalgae-based jerky that was named Spirulina Garlic Jerky (SPIGAKY). Spirulina was chosen as the main ingredient because of its high protein content which can almost match meat protein content. Moreover, spirulina can be cultivated easily thus ensuring its sustainability compared to red meat.

Jason explained, "Our lecturers often said that spirulina has the potential to be a staple food in the future because it is easy to cultivate and contains a lot of protein. The only problem is its taste, how we process it to be tasty and has a pleasant texture. Because in reality, people eat not only to gain nutrition but for taste as well. So to make it tastes better and to add more nutrition we added garlic."

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The combination of the two plant-based ingredients of spirulina and garlic, according to them, is good for hypertension patients. From there we look for foods that can replace the people's appetite for red meat, but which can also match its nutritional value without causing blood pressure rise," said Elizabeth to ITB PR Reporter.

Spirulina is a food that has a high protein content but low sodium and trans-fat content, so it is safe to be consumed by hypertension patients. Besides, garlic was proven to contain a chemical that can regulate blood pressure. With the combination of these two ingredients, SPIGAKY is an alternative food that is very suitable to be consumed by hypertension patients.

This SPIGAKY product was exhibited at the Food Ingredient Asia which took place at the Jakarta International Expo on 7-9 September 2022. Food Ingredient Asia is the biggest food ingredients exhibition in ASEAN and was attended by hundreds of food cooperation. From there the students received a lot of advice and feedback from many parties that are related to their product. From the feasibility and opportunity points of view, SPIGAKY has met those two criteria. However, for its further development, Maria, Elizabeth, and Jason agreed that SPIGAKY still needs commitment and support from many parties.

Reporter: Hanifa Juliana (District and City Planning, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)