On Saturday 3rd August 2019, Andrean Wangsa (FTE 2017), and lecturers Ms. Patmah Fatoni S.T, M.Eng, and Dr. Luth attended a seminar held in Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta which was directed by one of IULI’s food technology lecturers, Mr. Hendry Noer Fadlillah S.TP, M.P titled “International Conference & Launching of Indonesia Soy Food and Beverage Network; Strengthening Soy Food & Beverage Business in Indonesia”. The companies involved included: INAVIGA, USSOY, USDA, and SoyBeaN
The seminar had a manifold approach which made it enjoyable and understandable for viewers coming from different educational levels and backgrounds. The topics were mostly related to the application of soy in agricultural, food, and cosmetic trade industries, medicine and nutrition, its economic value, and potential in national/international business.
The main aim of this seminar was to invite people from different soy product companies to use US Soy as their source of raw materials.
Another goal of this event was to educate the participants regarding soy products and their potential in Indonesia due to them being an economic, sustainable, and surprisingly healthy food source for the Indonesian society. In addition to the national-scaled benefits, the speakers have also explained how our country would have great potentials in exporting soy products as we have one of the most diverse soy processing methods and products.
Listed below are the names of the speakers and topics, and the guest chef respectively:
In short, the first half of the event focused on the SSAP (Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol, which is a verification method of soybeans from farm to processing), the controversial nutritional/medical myths vs facts about soybeans, soy-based food consumption, and also regarding vegan diets. A lot of newfound food-related knowledge has been gathered from this section.
After the lunch break, the second half emphasized more on business, such as the market value of different local soy foods, their competitors, and Indonesia’s potential to export them to different countries. The speakers have implied that a lot of locals view soy as a “poor man’s bean”, and that they only purchase soy when there is not much cash left; their mindsets and perspectives should change as soy is viewed as a superfood in further areas such as America.
The event has been truly educative as the speakers helped to clear up the false rumours regarding soy foods and inspired participants to be more creative and motivated to produce soy products so that they can hopefully export it to different places around the world, whether it be in SEA, or further to the USA.
As the conferences have come to an end, they were followed by a cooking demonstration by Chef Sandra Djohan. All dishes contained soy products as they were the focal point of the event, they included: “Tempe Tongseng”, “Carrot Tofu Cake”, and “Tropical Smoothie”(made with soymilk)
The functionality of events like this is not constrained to any specific group of people in society. Different people who have concerns regarding soybean and soy products whether it be from a scientific or economic background will find that the information received to come in handy because the approaches taken were practical. Moreover, the speakers came from different countries and backgrounds, hence the diverse experiences and interpretations.
(Andrean Wangsa FTE 2017)
