A localized nutritious burger

Another new addition from Uva Wellassa:

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The Uva Wellassa University (UWU) is the first entrepreneurial university in Sri Lanka known as the Centre of Excellence for value addition. It fulfils the requirement of producing undergraduates with entrepreneurial skills much needed for the country.

This is the eighth of a series of articles based on final year student research reports on value addition which will be useful for industrialists as well as readers. The objective of this series is to encourage and introduce country’s future entrepreneurs, to make the industrialists and other relevant parties aware of potential businesses. Interested parties can contact the University for more details.

Asha Bandara

Thilini Asha Bandara an old girl of St Joseph’s Convent Kegalle entered the Uva Wellassa University for the Animal Science Degree Program having passed her Advanced Level examination. She was influenced by her lecturers to do a value addition to a Burger where she developed this in an innovative way.

Her project focused on the development of a burger using chicken meat, liver and gizzard with locally available cereals as binders.

Objectives

In the modern society people with their busy schedules have got used to consume readymade meal mostly for breakfast. They look for different tastes specially the small children like different varieties of the same types of food. This innovation to produce a highly nutritious chicken burger by using giblets (liver and gizzard) was introduced to replace the current binder with locally available cereals.

Description

Chicken burger is a processed meat product which consists of a cooked patty of ground meat, (usually beef, but occasionally pork, chicken, or a combination of meats) placed between two buns.

Burgers are often served with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard and mayonnaise.

The burger has attained widespread popularity and consumers tend to eat burgers because of convenience, variety, economy and nutritional value.

Relation to value addition

At present, market tends to seek diversified burger products rather than going for the usual burgers.

Thus the present study is focusing on market needs while developing high nutritious burger by combining chicken giblets with locally available cereals.

Chicken is a highly nutritious locally available animal product while brown rice is an agricultural commodity which has a high production in Sri Lanka.

Although the production is high, using such ingredients in developing value added products is low.

The localized burger made by her

Burgers that have incorporated liver and gizzard are not currently available in the local market. In order to enhance customer acceptability it is worth to alter the ordinary appearance of the burger.

Commercial value of product

Thus the present study aims to add value to local agricultural resources, chicken, brown rice and other locally available spices by developing a low cost highly nutritious burger. People in today’s world are busy and there is a trend of increasing ready to eat food varieties. A chicken burger which can be eaten while working or while running to work is a very convenient food product to consumers and is very popular in the fast food industry.

Consumers tend to eat burgers because of convenience, variety, economy and nutritional value. People are always looking for new products with different quality attributes and this product will offer a novel experience to the consumer.

Possible outcome

A ready to eat burger incorporating chicken meat, liver and gizzard with cereals as binders will be available in the market.

Bandara said the support given by the University is valuable.

As an animal science undergraduate, she acquired the complete knowledge on both meat science and food science which are essential for this study.

All lecturers of the animal science degree Program guided her in the mission by advising, providing knowledge, skills and attitudes which are very appreciable.