Sponge Formula Based on Mung Bean Flour as a Functional Food Source of Iron for Preventing Anemia

Iron deficiency anemia is still a nutritional problem for adolescent girls and women of reproductive age because it reduces fitness, concentration in studies and readiness for pregnancy. This research aims to develop steamed sponge cake based on green bean flour as a functional snack source of iron and assess its sensory acceptability. The research is laboratory experimental with a repeated measurement design (within-subject); The main formulation uses 80% green bean flour, eggs, sugar, milk powder, margarine, vanilla and baking powder. Ten untrained panelists rated color, aroma, texture, and taste using a five-point hedonic scale. Because the data are ordinal in nature, come from a small panel (n = 10), and have a pairwise structure, inferential analysis uses the Friedman test (α = 0,05) as an alternative nonparametric repeated-measures ANOVA, followed by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test with Bonferroni correction and Kendall's W effect size. (Kendall's W = 0,69). Color received the highest mean (4,00±0,67) with 80% positive responses, followed by aroma (3,80±0,63; 70%), taste (3,50±0,85; 50%), while texture was the lowest attribute (3,00±0,67; 20%). Further tests showed that texture was significantly different from color (p-Bonferroni < 0,05). Mung bean flour sponge cake has the potential to be an iron-rich snack, but optimization of texture, taste, iron content testing and bioavailability are still needed before functional claims are applied more widely. Products also need to be tested on adolescent girls so that real acceptability, safety of consumption, and opportunities for integration with school nutrition education can be assessed comprehensively.