By: Nur Syamila Kamarul Arefin
Photo: Sabri Omar
SERDANG, July 4 – A group of students of the Bachelor of Food Science and Technology (BSTM), Faculty of Food Science and Technology (FSTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), have produced an innovative food product based on watermelon, watermelon juice with soy milk named ‘PinkJoys’.
The watermelon juice with soy milk focuses on 100% of the plant traits, first introduced in the market by using damaged watermelon, and the white skin inside was turned into jelly without preservatives, additional flavouring and colouring.
According to third-year BSTM student, Jahnavi Ganesamurthy, her team members had chosen to produce the juice based on watermelon and soy milk to focus on those who suffer from lactose intolerance, which is the inability to digest milk sugar or lactose.
“The ingredients of the watermelon juice with soy milk are fat-free with only 56 calories in each serving. By combining plant-based milk, the product is suitable for those who do not drink fresh milk.
“We use overripe watermelons that are about to be thrown away to be used as juice to avoid waste, and the produced product has a clean label with no added artificial flavours.
“One of the processes applied is HPP (High-Pressure Processing) which can preserve food products without heat or use of chemical preservatives to ensure safety and extend refrigerated shelf life,” she said.
A total of 63 third-year students of BSTM, FSTM, UPM, successfully produced eight food products on the New Product Introduction Day 2022 with the theme of “Innovative Solutions to Reduce Food Loss”.
The food prototypes were based on watermelon, honeydew melon, chilli and corn.
Meanwhile, the beverage industry uses HPP technology a lot to supply the ingredients of the watermelon juice with soy milk with a clean, fresher taste and better nutrition, said Jahnavi.
“High-pressure processing is a paradigm shift technology in the food industry that is becoming a trend with consumer interest. HPP is also used commercially to process fruit juice so that it does not experience significant changes,” she said. - UPM
