Tempe industry needs modernizing: Tunky

Tempe industry needs modernizing: Tunky

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo says
Indonesia needs to modernize its tempe industry to keep pace with
the growing popularity of the soybean-based food both here and
abroad.

In his keynote address to a seminar on soybean consumption on
Saturday, Tunky called for caution in government approaches to
the tempe industry, which is still largely based on traditional
methods and small-scale production.

"We need to allocate special and serious attention to this
matter, because, on the one hand we need to preserve the tempe
industry -- which is run largely by the people, provides quite a
lot of employment and provides additional revenues to families --
but, on the other hand, the tempe industry needs to be modernized
to meet the challenges of the globalization era," the minister
said in his speech, which was read by Director General of
Agricultural Processing Industry Anang Lukmana.

For generations, the fermented soybean cake has been an
important part of the Indonesian diet, particularly in Java,
where the processing method was developed.

Once considered an inferior meat substitute, tempe is gaining
in popularity, both in Indonesia and abroad, because it is high
in protein and low in cholesterol.

Tunky said that in 1994 there were 94,000 small-scale or
household industries manufacturing tempe in Indonesia, employing
a total of 266,000 people.

Value added is high in the tempe industry, Tunky said, with
the Rp 1,410 billion ($613 million) spent on raw materials being
used to create products worth Rp 6,345 billion ($2.8 million).

Because of the huge demand of tempe and other soybean-based
products, Indonesia consumes 2.3 million tons of soybeans per
annum, of which 600,000 tons are imported from China, Brazil,
Argentina and the United States.

K.D.R. Setchell, a professor in the department of pediatrics
of the University of Cincinatti in the United States, told
Saturday's seminar that soy protein has been proven to actually
lower a person's cholesterol level.

There are also circumstantial indications that soybeans
prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases, Sethcell said.

"There is no question that soybean protein lowers cholesterol
and is beneficial in preventing cancer and cardiovascular
diseases," he said.

The seminar was jointly sponsored by the ministry of industry,
the ministry of food affairs and the American Soybean
Association. It was held at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
and attended by participants representing the government, the
private sector and health experts.

Setchell said that research on animals has shown soybeans to
also be very effective in preventing diabetes and kidney
disease.

Unlike Indonesia and most other Asian countries, in which
soybeans are a nutritional mainstay, in the U.S. the beans have
been used mostly for animal feed, he said.

"Many diseases that are a major cause of death in the United
States have a very low incidence in Asia," Setchell said, adding
that he hoped that his research would prove that biologically
active contents of soybeans explain that fact.

"We are trying to convince Americans and the Western world in
general that there are tremendous benefits to be had from
including soybeans in the diet," he said. (03)