Prof Dr. Aweng a/l Eh Rak
Professor
Faculty of Earth Science
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
aweng@umk.edu.my

NO	NAME	PROJECT TITLE	RESEARCH DOMAIN (SUB DOMAIN)
1	Prof Dr. Aweng a/l Eh Rak	Determination Of Microbiology And Chemical Contaminant Pathways Of “Etak” For Innovative Processing Step To Ensure Food Safety	Pure and Applied Science (Biology)
2	Assoc. Prof Dr. Ahamad Tarmizi Azizan	Etak As Heritage of Kelantan – Investigating Current Heritage Knowledge Model as a pathway for social and economic sustainability Model	Natural and Cultural Heritage (Culture)
3	Assoc. Prof Dr. Lee Seong Wei	Characterisation of “etak” (Corbicula fluminea) life cycle and its potential as aquaculture species	Natural and Cultural Heritage (Biodiversity)
4	Prof Dr. Mohd Rafi Yaacob	Heritage Food Revival - Creating Business Model for Sustainability of "Etak" in Kelantan	Social Sciences (Management [Organisational Behaviour, Entrepreneurship])

3 years 6 months (01 December 2016 – 31 May 2020)

“Etak” or Corbicula fluminea can be found living in the bottom of the rivers. “Etak” was previously consumed by the majority of Kelantanese as a traditional snack. However, currently the number of "etak" consumers are decreasing, perhaps due to unsafe consumption of "etak" caused by river pollution as well as the pollution intrusion through preparation processes. The contaminants if not properly eliminated could pose health risk to consumers and finally will affect its status as heritage food. Thus, the accumulation of contaminants and the pathway flow of contaminants in “etak” at three stages starting from its natural habitat stage followed by the preparation stage and selling stage will be identified. The identified factors will be used to design a hygienic processing method and safety model. First, the source and species of “etak” collected and sold in Kelantan will be determined. Secondly, the concentration of contaminants will be quantified using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. On the other hand, the metagenomics analysis will be utilized to determine microbe diversity and its concentration. In order to ensure the safety of " etak" as traditional food, training using the proposed hygienic processing method and safety model would be necessary for those involved in "etak" industry.

1. Profiling of the current practices in “etak” preparation and status of “etak” as heritage food for Kelantan
2. Determine possible contaminants at every level of “etak” processing cycle to develop a safety handling model
3. Characterize “etak” life cycle and develop its farming system for sustainable supply
4. Identify socio-economic status of “etak” related business and proposing a viable model for revival of “etak” industry as heritage food

1. Talent:
   • 1 PHD
     1. Wan Siti Farizan Binti Mohamed Rani (Graduated)
     2. Mohd Zharif Ramli (Graduated)
   
   
   • 1 Master
     1. Akrimah Yusof (Graduated)
     2. Hadiana (Graduated) (Non-Malaysia)
     3. Mohamad Shareef Mohd Hafiz Mani (Graduated)
     4. Zulkifli Bin Ab. Rahim (Graduated)
     5. Mohd Zaim Bin Zaki (Graduated)
     6. Siti Norhayati Bt Shamsudin (Graduated)
     7. Dee Koh Han (Graduated)
     8. Siti Nor Aini Binti Md Nasir (Graduated)


2. Publication:
   
   • Article in Indexed Journals
     1. Creating Business a Model for Etak - Heritage Food Revival Sustainability in Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia (2019) - SCOPUS
     2. An Assessment of Heavy Metals Toxicity in Asian Clam, Corbicula fluminea, from Mekong River, Pa Sak River, and Lopburi River, Thailand (2019) - SCOPUS
     3. Growth and response of Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, towards treated quail dung (2018) - ISI
     4. ASSESSMENT OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE OF Salmonella spp. ISOLATED FROM FARMED ASIAN CLAM Corbicula fluminea (2020) - SCOPUS
     5. Growth Performance of Asian Clam Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) Fed with Different Feeds in Laboratory Scale Culture System (2020) - SCOPUS
     6. Phenotype and Genotype Characterisation of the Asian Clam of the Genus Corbicula Megerle von Mϋhlfeld, 1811 (Venerida, Cyrenidae) from the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (2020)
     7. Sustainability of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Smoked Clam (Etak Salai) Industry in Kelantan, Malaysia as Micro-Enterprise and as Local Ecosystem (2021) - SCOPUS
     8. Assessment of physico-chemicals water quality, substrate compositions and phytoplankton in relation to the density of Corbicula fluminea in Pattani river, Southern Thailand (2018) - SCOPUS
     9. THE DISTRIBUTION AND LENGTH SIZE OF CORBICULA FLUMINEA (ETAK) IN SUNGAI PERGAU AT GUNUNG RENG (2018) - SCOPUS
     10. HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATION IN ETAK TISSUE AT DIFFERENT PROCESSING STAGES (2019) - MyCITE
     11. Preliminary Assessment of Corbicula fluminea in Saiburi River, Southern Thailand (2019) - ICI, MyCite
     12. Proximate Analysis and Fatty Acid of Corbicula fluminea (C. fluminea) Tissue in Kelantan, Malaysia (2020) - SCOPUS
     13. Potential of Leucas zeylanica extract to eliminate E. coli and S. aureus in Corbicula fluminea (“Etak”) tissue (2019) - Web of Sciences (WoS)
     14. Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals from Smoked Corbicula fluminea Collected on Roadside Vendors at Kelantan, Malaysia (2019) - SCOPUS
     15. Comparison of the Nutritional Values in Fresh and Smoked Corbicula fluminea (Etak) Tissue via Traditional Smoking Process (2020) - SCOPUS
     16. Effect of Organic Content in River Sediment on the Number and Size of Corbicula fluminea (2020) - SCOPUS
     17. Determination of Selected Heavy Metal Contents in Fresh and Smoked Corbicula fluminea (Muller, 1774) Collected from Hawkers in the District of Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia (2020) - SCOPUS
     18. Determination of Selected Heavy Metal Contents in Fresh and Smoked Corbicula fluminea (Muller, 1774) Collected from a Vendor in Kampung Kasar, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Malaysia (2020) - SCOPUS
     19. High quality of bacterial dna extraction from Corbicula fluminea (Muller,1774) tissue in Kelantan (2020) - Web of Sciences, WoS
   
   
   • Conference Proceedings
     1. Consumers’ Behaviour towards Smoked Etak in Kelantan, Malaysia – A Pilot Study (2017)
     2. Creating Business Model for Etak -The Heritage Food Revival Sustainability in Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia (2017)
     3. THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF ASIAN CLAM (ETOK) INDUSTRY IN KELANTAN, MALAYSIA (2018)
     4. Growth Performances of Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea) fed by Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) Cultivated in Semi-Closed System (2018)
     5. Synthesizing of Graphene Oxide for Isolation and Enumeration of Escherichia Coli, Salmonella spp. and Vibrio spp. in Asian clam Corbicula fluminea by using Total Plate Count (TPC) Method (2018)


3. Intellectual Property :
   • Copyright : LY2019006937
   • Copyright : LY2019006939
   • Copyright : LY2019006940
   • Copyright : LY2019006941


4. Collaborations :
   • Ain Aquaculture Sdn. Bhd. - In-situ Etak Farming and Breeding/ Etak Conservation

• ● Malaysia Technology Expo (2020) - Gold Award & Silver Award
• ● Carnival Research & Innovation (CRI 2018) - Bronze Medal
• ● Carnival Research & Innovation (CRI 2019) - Silver Medal

1. Government - Ensuring all related aspects of smoked "etak" been addressed based on scientific findings
2. Industry - Get sufficient and good supply of raw "etak" and produce quality "etak salai" for consumers
3. Researcher - Findings can be used as a basis for further research
4. Community - consume safe and healthy smoked "etak"