NATA DE COCO PRODUCTION

The Coconut Products Training for the Caribbean

Dr. Maryam
Dwimaryam Suciati, M.Sc
Product Introduction
 Nata de coco is a cellulose compound (dietary fiber) produced from
coconut water through a fermentation process involving the bacterium
Acetobacter xylinum.
 Fermentation is the process of changing compounds in the substrate
into other forms such as cellulose by microbes.
 Nata de coco is a bacterial cellulose which has a chewy texture.
 Nata is basically cellulose, when viewed under a microscope it
appears as a mass of irregular fibrils resembling cotton threads.
 Nata de coco is Bacterial Cellulose (BC)
 HISTORICAL

• Nata de coco comes from Spanish “nadar“ in this means ‘swim’

• Nata translated in Latin as ‘natare’ means adrift (terapung)
• Nata that come from coconut water well-known as nata de coco
• The product originates from the Philippines.

In Indonesia,
• Nata de coco was being tried in 1973 and introduced in 1975.
However, nata de coco well-known in the market in 1981
 WHY NATA DE
COCO?

1. Easily to be obtained (about 900 million liter coconut water per year)
2. Unaffected by season
3. Cheap
4. Good for Health (Nata de coco is highly regarded for its high dietary fiber, and its
zero fat and cholesterol content. No preservatives or other chemicals are added to Nata de
coco.)

5. Etc
Contains of Coconut Water
• Water (91,23%)
• Protein (0,29%)
• Fat (0,15%)
• Carbohidrate (7,27%) sukrosa, glukosa, fruktosa,
sorbitol, dan inositol

• Ash content (1,06%)

• Mineral (K, Ca, Na, Mg, P, Cu, S)
• Vitamin (vitamin C and B)
 Product Characteristics
 Nata is a low-calorie food product, because cellulose cannot be
digested by the body but can facilitate digestion.
 In general, in the market, nata de coco has a white color, has a chewy
texture, is tasteless and transparent.
 Cellulose is a natural unbranched polymer of glucose and linked by
1,4-β-glycoside bonds.
 Cellulose fibers have high physical strength formed by fibrils that
are coiled like a spiral.
 Nata de coco has cellulose as its main ingredient, there are several
advantages that cellulose has, including high purity, high degree of
crystallinity, having a density, high tensile strength, and elasticity.
Product Characteristics
Product Types
• Making nata can utilize substrates such as pineapple, tofu dregs, and coconut
water which are fermented aerobically with the help of microbes.
• The name nata is usually taken from the substrate used, such as nata de pine
which is the substrate from pineapple, nata de coco uses coconut water as a
substrate, nata de tomato which comes from tomatoes and nata de aloe which
comes from aloe vera.
• There are many nata de coco products sold in the market with various shapes
such as nata sheets and ready-to-consume nata pieces.
• To add nutritional elements, Nata is consumed together with a mixture of
various foods and drinks with various flavors.
Product Types
Product Benefits
According to Sulistiyana (2020), every 100 grams of nata de coco has a
nutritional content of 80% water, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 146 cal
calories, 20 grams of fat, 12 mg of Ca ions, 2 mg of P ions and 0.5 mg of
Fe ions, as much as 100 grams has nutritional content which can be seen
in the Table 1.
Table 1. nutritional content of nata de coco
Nutritional
Nutrient content
Value
Water 80%
Carbohydrate 20 gr
Calories 146 kal
Fat 20 gr
Calcium 12 mg
Phosphor 2 mg
Iron 0.5 gr
 Product Benefits
• Fulfills fiber needs
• Lowers cholesterol.
• Lowers blood glucose in diabetes sufferers.
• Prevents constipation.
• Controlling body weight (preventing obesity).
• Prevent colon cancer.
• Beneficial on the microflora in the colon.
 Product Benefits
• Nata de coco contains functional compounds
that are beneficial for body health, including
functioning as an antioxidant, anti-
inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and
even contains 9-Octadecenamide which
functions to prevent Alzheimer's, lower
cholesterol and lower blood pressure.
• Thus, nata de coco is thought to function as a
functional food Anam et al., 2019
 Product Benefits
• Another prospect of nata is known that nata can be used to make
environmentally friendly paper (Sijuang, 2017).
• Syamsu's research (2014) showed that nata can be used as
biofilm and bioplastic.
• The trend in the future, the concept of going green will continue
to grow, therefore bioplastics will replace non-biodegradable
(non-biodegradable) plastics.
• Based on research results, nata de coco fiber has the potential to
be developed in the food/beverage industry (food) and other
important industries (non-food) such as textiles, health,
machinery, and cosmetics.
Product Benefits
 ACTIVITY 1
• Find the product (food and non-food) made from nata de coco
in your country (10 minutes)
 How to Make
the Best Nata
de Coco

Home Scale Industry Scale

Flowchart of Production Process

Source : Basuki and Rizqa, 2020

• The main raw material for nata de coco is coconut water.
• The coconut water used generally comes from old coconuts.
• Coconut water must be pure, or not mixed with water or dirt. It is not always used fresh.
Even coconut water that was stored for two days yield higher (75.01 percent) compared to
fresh coconut water. Likewise, when stored for 3-5 days, the results are not significantly
different from fresh coconut water.
• The nutritional content of coconut water still needs to be enriched so that the nata
bacteria grow more quickly and are productive in producing nata.
• The pH (degree of acidity) must be adjusted according to the optimal growth requirements
of the bacteria.
• So, in making nata de coco, other ingredients are needed as additional ingredients,
namely: granulated sugar, ammonium sulfate, glacial acetic acid, and starter or nata
starter.
• Sugar functions as a carbon source (energy source). The carbon source can use glucose, sucrose
or maltose. However, nata producers usually use sucrose (granulated sugar) because it is easy
to obtain and the price is relatively cheap.

• The ammonium sulfate used is food grade, this is because there is ammonium sulfate in the
another form, which is not permitted for food. Its function is as a nitrogen source (stimulating the
growth and activity of A. xylinum bacteria). Apart from this compound, you can also use yeast
extract, peptone, potassium nitrate and ammonium phosphate. Because the price is cheaper
and easier to obtain, nata producers usually use ammonium sulfate.

• Glacial acetic acid is also called vinegar. The purpose is to regulate the degree of acidity (pH) of
the fermentation media according to the requirements for bacterial growth. Usually added until
the pH conditions are ideal for bacterial growth (3-4).
 Many factors influence the growth and reproduction of nata
bacteria :
 medium acidity level, (pH) is between 3 – 4
 fermentation time,
 carbon source,
 nitrogen source,
 Temperature, 28-30°C (room temperature)
 Seed concentration (starter)
 Another requirement (light) is that the room is
quite dark (dimly lit) and oxygen can freely enter
the liquid media container.
 Mixing
 Another microorganism (fungi, other bacteria)
 the degree of sterilization of work place and
equipment
 Ingredient composition
• Producing Nata de Coco is simple, but in the
process requires attention at the critical point:
- Cultivation of culture A. xylinum
- Preparation of starters
- Fermentation process.

• Hygiene is very important factor for success the

process of Nata de Coco.
ACETOBACTER XYLINUM BACTERIA
Acetobacter xylinum
Characteristics :
a. Negative Gram Kingdom Bacteria
b. Aerobe
Phylum Proteobacteria
c. Cocus
d. Don’t have endospores Class Alpha Proteobacteria
(Pelczar and Chan,1988). Ordo Rhodospirillales

Family Pseudomonadaceae

Genus Acetobacter

Species Acetobacter xylinum

Forming of nata de coco
• These bacteria release enzymes that are able to assemble (polymerize) glucose
compounds into polysaccharides known as extracellular cellulose (nata de coco)
Preparation of the starter :
• The starter (seed of nata) is generally prepared in a clear (transparent) bottle. In
this way, the quality of the starter can be seen easily. Ready-to-use starters are
usually incubated for 4 - 7 days, depending on the condition of the seedlings.

SUCCESS FAILED
Product Quality Standards
• Finished product standards include color, shape, texture, flavors and
packaging used
Product Quality Standards
 SNI (Indonesian National Standard)
number 01-4317 of 1996 stipulates that
the characteristics of nata that must be
considered are the normal aroma, taste,
color and texture as well as its fiber
content.
 The quality requirements for packaged
Nata are according to the Indonesian
National Standard, namely SNI 01 - 4317,
1996 which can be seen in Table 2.
TYPES OF LAYOUT PRODUCTION
PROCESS
• In general, the main objective is to organize the work area and all
production facilities so that production can operate economically,
safely and comfortably, so as to increase employee work output.
• Meanwhile, from a food safety perspective, the layout of factory
facilities is aimed at avoiding cross-contamination, especially between
raw materials and finished products or cross-contamination from
employees to products.
A good layout will also provide benefits in the production process,
namely:
1. Increase production results or output.
2. Reduce waiting time (delay).
3. Reduce the process of moving materials (material handling).
4. Savings on area use for production, warehouse and service.
5. Maximize utilization of machines, employee and/or other production facilities.
6. Reduce the accumulation of semi-finished materials.
7. The production process is shorter.
8. Reduce risks to the operator's occupational health and safety.
9. Improve morale and job satisfaction.
10. Make monitoring or supervision activities easier.
11. Reduce bottlenecks and confusion in processes and products
12. Reduce factors that can be detrimental and affect the quality of raw materials or finished products.
• Straight Line Model • U-Shaped

• L Shaped
• Circular

• S-Shaped

• Odd-Angle
U-shaped layout in the nata de coco
process

1. Filtering and Storing Coconut Water

2. Cooking coconut water
3. Starter Preparation and Fermentation
4. Preparation and Fermentation of Nata de Coco
5. Product Packaging
6. Storage of Finished Nata Sheet Products
 ACTIVITY 2
• Discuss with group : Identify a raw material and equipments of nata
de coco production in home scale (15 minutes).

• Link video
Nata De Coco Production
Raw Materials
• Coconut water
• Starter or bacterial culture Acetobacter xylinum
• Urea
• Sugar
• Acetic acid / vinegar

Sterilization :
• Alcohol
Machine and Equipment
• Cooking Process Equipment • Fermentation Equipment
 Stainless steel pan  Transparent glass bottles
 Gas stove  Transparent plastic pan
 Plastic Funnel  Plastic Funnel
 Plastic filter  Newspaper
 Stirrer  Rubber
 Plastic strainer to filter out  Fermentation Shelf
impurities
 Machine and Equipment
• Collection & Harvesting • Measuring Equipment • Cleaning Equipment
Equipment  Scales / Analytical  Bottle Brush
 Plastic jerry cans balances  Washing sponge
 Plastic drums  Measuring cup  Sweep and brush
 Nata cutting machine  Electrical pH meter
 Production Steps
• Starter Production
 Starter is culture of acetobacter xylinum bacteria
 The starter can be made in laboratory or simply
 The composition of the starter media is the same
as the composition of the fermentation media used
in making nata de coco.
 Starter media is adjusted at pH 4-4.5 by adding
vinegar/acetic acid, then sterilized for 15 minutes
or until boiling.
 Starter can be made by adding 10 ml of pure
bacterial culture into 100 ml of starter medium and
then fermenting for 4 days (optimal age)
 Production Steps
Preparation of Media Fermentation
 Strain the coconut water with a strainer to separate the dirt and then
pour it into the pot.
 Add granulated sugar and urea (30 grams and 4 grams per liter,
respectively). Stir until dissolved, then boil until boiling for 15 minutes.
Remove any foam and dirt that appears during boiling, then discard.
 Add 10 ml of acetic acid / vinegar per liter of coconut water into the
media solution, stir until smooth and then remove from the stove.
 Pour one liter of fermenting medium into a clean transparent
tray/container while it is still hot.
 Cover the container with clean paper, then tie it with rubber/raffia
string.
 Cool the fermentation media (about 2-3 hours) until the temperature is
28-30 °C because the starter nata will die if added when the media
temperature is still high.
 Production Steps
• Inoculation of nata seeds  Adding starter to the media
 Open the paper that covers one corner of the
container until it is wide enough.
 Pour the nata seeds into the media as much as 100
ml per liter of media.
 Close the container as before, then tie it back.
 Production Steps
• Media Fermentation
1. Transport the container containing the media that has been given a nata starter to the
fermentation room and then store it properly.
2. Containers can be stacked on the floor / shelf ferment regularly (enforce smooth air circulation
and stable temperature)
3. Position the container as flat as possible, if it is slanted the thickness of the resulting nata is not
the same because the shape of the nata will follow the media.
4. Containers also should not be disturbed so that the growth of nata is not disturbed. If the media
is shaken, the nata formed will be layered.
5. Ferment for 7-8 days with room temperature fermentation around 28-30 °C.
6. The success rate of the fermentation process ranges from 80-97.5% depending on the
sterilization of the production site. Weather is also an important success factor because room
temperature is very necessary in the fermentation process.
• Media Fermentation
 Production Steps
• Harvesting

 After being fermented for 7-8 days (the media in the

container runs out) nata is ready to be harvested with a
thickness of 1.5 cm.
 Nata de coco is cut into small pieces (dice) with a nata
cutting machine/tool with a size according to the
aesthetics of the product in one mouthful.
 Nata de coco is then pressed or boiled many times to
remove the acid. This tasteless nata de coco is ready to
be processed further.
 Packaging
 Nata de coco products can be packaged in plastic made of polyester
(PET) in the form of non-Alu foil Pouch Packaging.
 Nata de coco can also be packaged in pails, plastic pouches, plastic cups,
and plastic pillows.
VIDEO OF NATA DE COCO
PRODUCTION
Link Video
Food Product of Nata de coco