Professor Suci Paramitasari Syahlani, a lecturer at the Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), was inaugurated as a Professor in the field of Livestock Product Marketing on Thursday (Apr. 8) at the UGM Campus.
In her inauguration speech titled “The Urgency of Collective Biosecurity in the Sanitation Hygiene Certification Process for Animal-Based Food Products,” Professor Syahlani emphasized the importance of implementing a collective biosecurity model to ensure the safety of animal-based food products, particularly in the micro and small-scale livestock sector.
In her address, Professor Syahlani stated that the main challenge facing animal-based food producers in Indonesia lies not only in production quantity but also in quality.
Indonesia continues to face a gap in fulfilling adequate animal protein intake. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2022 shows that the average daily per capita supply of animal protein in Indonesia was only 29.35 grams, still below the Asian average of 34.29 grams.
“This disparity reflects an opportunity for business actors to increase animal protein intake,” she said.
She argued that increasing the quantity of animal-based food alone is insufficient without ensuring its quality.
In this regard, sanitation hygiene certification guarantees food products are safe and fit for consumption.
The Indonesian government has made efforts to ensure food safety through the Veterinary Control Number (NKV) regulation, but adoption of the certification remains relatively low.
“Since the NKV regulation was enacted in 2020, not many animal-based food producers have adopted the certification, particularly those producing fresh and unprocessed products,” explained Professor Syahlani.
According to her, the main obstacles include the predominance of micro and small-scale enterprises in the livestock industry, limited land availability, and low consumer awareness of the importance of certification.
To address this issue, Professor Syahlani proposed a collective biosecurity approach.
“The current biosecurity model is implemented individually by each business entity, but a collective biosecurity model should be considered, especially for micro and small-scale producers of animal-based food,” she explained.
The collective biosecurity model she proposed involves a shared spatial arrangement in which groups of producers operate within the same area.
This model is considered more efficient and allows small-scale producers to jointly meet sanitation hygiene standards, enabling them to obtain NKV certification and improve the competitiveness of their products.
Author: Rahma Khoirunnisa
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photographer: Donnie