Through the Independent Learning – Free Campus activity (MBKM), students carried out self-actualization through various activities. One of the activities offered by the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) was Food Safety Goes To Campus (PAGC). This activity was attended by five semester 6 students from the Study Program of Food Technology at Institut Teknologi Sumatera (PSTP ITERA). Students played a role as food safety facilitators for micro small and medium enterprises (UMKM) for four months.
In that program, students were given the opportunity to directly enrich and improve insight in the field of food safety. They will provide assistance to UMKM of processed food in implementing the Good Production of Processed Food (CPPOB), including for the Household Industry. The PAGC program for one semester is in line with one form of certified internship learning in Independent Learning – Free Campus and can be converted into 20 Student Credit Units (SKS).
Students were placed in various BPOM offices during the MBKM activity. There were 3 students at BBPOM Bandar Lampung named Assiva Pratami, Iga Angela Simanjuntak and Sephia Wulandari; 1 student at BBPOM Padang named Muhammad Fadhli and 1 student at BBPOM Jakarta named Jane Mora Aprilia.
“During the internship at BPOM, we gained a lot of knowledge and understanding of food safety and the regulations related to it, and the knowledge provided was almost related to the Regulations and Food Safety course in the Food Technology Study Program at ITERA,” said Iga Angela Simanjuntak, one of the program participants.
This activity was welcomed enthusiastically by the other internship participants, Sephia Wulandari. In her opinion, there were so many interesting experiences while doing an internship at the BPOM, one of which could be a first-level food safety facilitator. Assiva Pratami also conveyed that the students’ tasks during the MBKM activity were to carry out direct assistance to UMKM regarding the application of CPPOB until the UMKM concerned obtained the CPPOB certificate. The students were also guided by BPOM practitioners who were very competent in their field and by the supervising lecturers from ITERA.
“The MBKM Food Safety Goes To Campus activity provides an opportunity for students to see the food industry in real life in implementing food safety. This activity also provides a real picture of what one of the profiles of graduates from the Food Technology Study Program at ITERA is like after graduating from college,” said Amalia Wahyuningyas, who is the coordinator of the Food Technology Study Program at ITERA, when opening the monitoring and evaluation activity of the MBKM activity at the Bandar Lampung BBPOM office.
Next, the study program will continue to improve cooperation with BBPOM Bandar Lampung, not only for educational activities, but also for developing research and community service activities. (ILM/MNU)
