Master’s students in Food Science and Technology at the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FTP UGM), Nur Afni Rezkika and Fiki Nimatul Jannah, have won awards at the 2nd International Student Summit (ISS) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on February 14-15. The team received three awards at once: Gold Medal in the Food Sub-theme, Best Presentation, and 3rd Winner.
Competing against thousands of participants, Afni explained that 1,002 students from six countries participated in the competition across various academic sub-themes. The competition stages included paper selection, poster presentations, and final presentations. After advancing as finalists, she and her teammate continued to the final round in person in Malaysia over two days.
“Fortunately, we qualified as the best participants in the food sub-theme and advanced to the final stage. The biggest challenge was managing our time to prepare presentations, revise posters, and practice for the competition while working on our master’s thesis research,” she said on Tuesday (Apr. 14).
Afni and the team presented an innovation on the development of intelligent biopackaging based on dragon fruit peel integrated with the MeatSafe application. This breakthrough takes the form of a smart sticker that utilizes dragon fruit peel extract. She explained that the sticker contains betalain pigments, compounds that are sensitive to pH changes.
“This technology is designed to monitor the quality of chicken meat in real time,” she said.
The sticker is integrated with the MeatSafe application, which can detect color changes through a smartphone camera. As a result, consumers can obtain objective and practical information about meat quality.
“Since it adopts a biopackaging concept, the materials we use are biodegradable. In addition to being environmentally friendly, this innovation also has the potential to become a more economical packaging alternative,” she added.
Furthermore, Afni shared that participating in the competition was a valuable experience. In addition to sharpening critical thinking and scientific communication skills, the event also provided opportunities to exchange ideas with participants from diverse countries and academic backgrounds.
“We strived to deliver a comprehensive presentation supported by strong scientific arguments, which ultimately led us to win the awards,” she said.
Looking ahead, the team hopes that their innovation will not stop at the competition stage but can be implemented in real-world applications. The use of dragon fruit peel waste is considered a promising sustainable solution that supports food safety and aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Author: Hanifah
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Jasmine Ferdian
Photo: Team Documentation