Mardi’s technology adds value to Sabah’s agro-food sector
Published on: Tuesday, May 17, 2022
By: Bernama
Helda (right) looking on as a Mardi personnel prepares ‘lemang’ for cooking.
Kota Kinabalu: Technology introduced by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) is able to boost the added value of Sabah’s agro-food sector, besides driving the development of the agriculture and livestock industries in the State.Sabah Mardi Director Helda Souki said Sabah had many resources with great potential to be developed, and if given commercial value, could be competitive products in the market.
ADVERTISEMENT
For example in processing bambangan (wild mango) juice and other fruit-based drinks, Helda said, Sabah Mardi has introduced better processing methods than the conventional way which only mixes the exotic fruit puree with water and sugar.
“However, the actual method has been introduced to entrepreneurs in Sabah, namely the production of juices requiring precise methods to ensure the durability of the product, and at the same time, the taste and aroma can be maintained,” he said.
Bambangan, or known by its scientific name mangifera pajang, is a fruit that grows wild in the forest and can be found throughout Sabah. The fruit has yellow-coloured flesh and has a sweet-sourish taste like mango.
Apart from the bambangan juice processing technology, Helda said the research team at the Mardi Engineering Research Centre has also produced a cake-cutting mould for the popular Sabah traditional cake “kuih cincin”, which is easy to use and gives a uniform shape and size.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, she said, the technology presented by Mardi to Sabah agro-food entrepreneurs is not only limited to the use of machines alone, but also includes technology in terms of processing, packaging and product durability.
She said the use of technology in processing will be able to further enhance entrepreneurs’ quality of products which has the potential to penetrate a wider market.
ADVERTISEMENT
She said MardiLab Kota Kinabalu also provides services to analyse food and agricultural products before they are marketed as products for the local and export markets required analysis to be offered by accredited laboratories.
“To meet that need, MardiLab Kota Kinabalu has been accredited with MS ISO/IEC17025 accreditation under the Malaysian Laboratory Accreditation Scheme in 2014. This accreditation is Mardi’s success in helping to elevate and expand Sabah’s local products to the global stage,” she added.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
