Food Technology of UAD to Focus on Local Wisdom

 

Food is a basic need that must be met for human survival. The problem is, not all foods have nutrition that is good for health. In fact, many of them tend to have substances that have a negative impact on our health. Many factors determine whether foods are good for consumption or not. Two of them are the raw materials and the processing methods.

Referring to these two things, Food Technology Study Program of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD) Yogyakarta places local wisdom as one of the main focuses in food engineering. Ika Dyah Kumalasari, Ph.D., the Chairperson of Food Technology Study Program explained that there were three things that became the focus of the study program. They were for foods to be local, halal, and functional.

"Indonesia, as a tropical country, has abundant food ingredients. Therefore, we teach students about the basic ingredients and processing methods based on local wisdom. The aim is to raise Indonesia's local potential so that it is known to the public," she explained when interviewed at campus 3 of UAD on Monday (3/9/2018).

In addition, Food Technology Study Program also conducts a lot of research and community service related to potential of foods. Those activities are conducted to educate the public so as not to depend on instant and foreign food products.

"We do research on the basic ingredients of local food, starting from nutritional contents to processing methods so that the substances contained in them are not damaged. Food engineering innovations based on local wisdom must continue to be developed to make Indonesia a food-independent country," she said.

Ika added that many of the basic ingredients for local food had not been explored, for example the basic ingredients from tubers, nuts, to fruits and vegetables. According to her, local food ingredients needed to be popularized to avoid them become extinct. In terms of nutrition, food ingredients from Indonesia have good benefits for the body.

"Food Technology Study Program of UAD sees market opportunities from local wisdom. We want to develop a variety of internationally standardized Indonesian food products that have a high-selling value. Therefore, they can be exported in order to introduce authentic Indonesian food."