Today, food is a star as much as celebrities. when you check social media right now, the chances are you’ll encounter at least a single post about food. But food not always about glamorous platting or cute photos on Instagram. When we talk about food we can’t ignore the fact that it has to be healthy, stable, and also sustainable. Food can be about science too. How it grows, How it produces, even down to how its manufacture is science-related.

Follow up on the statement above, How can be food is science-related, we’re talking about Food Technology. According to Abdurrahman Mas, MSc, Head Of Food Technology here at i3L “Over the past few years, advancements in the field of food technology have been focusing on the investigation on sustainable food development. Sustainable food development has become an interesting topic due to the ever-growing need for a stable and healthy food supply. We believe that the solution to these issues lies in the utilization of local biodiversity and the application of modern food processing technologies.” Then what is Food Technology? It is the application of food science to the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, quality control, and research and development of the food products. Food Technology’s related fields include analytical chemistry, biotechnology, engineering, nutrition, quality control, and food safety management.

Now that we throw Biotechnology in the mix, let’s stir a bit and make it excited. One of the factors that boost the rapid growth of Food Technology is Biotechnology. As We already know that Biotechnology manipulates or make use of organism to produce products or services. In a more conventional way, Biotechnology is already used to produces some food products. such as the use of Rhizopus oryzae in making tempe or Aspergillus wentii in making sweet soy sauce. Nowadays, in the more modern sense, Biotechnology uses the application of microorganisms/cells or components thereof (e.g., enzymes) to produce useful products and services. It helps increased efficiency and the use of renewable resources. Including food products.

The benefits of combining biotechnology in food technology are as follows :

• Protection of the environment. Scientists have made some foods more resistant to disease. These new breed crops need less chemical spray to protect them from harmful insects or viruses, which is better for water, soil, and wildlife.
• Greater Crop Yields. Farmers can use biotechnology to help plants survive, warding off insects and better tolerance to herbicides. This allows a better harvest from these hardier plants.
• Better Tasting, Fresher Foods. biotechnology can produce fresher and better-tasting food. An example of this one is Guava. There’s a new hybrid of guava that combines two different kinds of this type of fruit and takes the best quality of both to create one supreme food product. a new breed of guava with bigger fruit but sweeter in taste.
• Grow more food on less land. PT Smart TBK succeeded create Dami Mas. This high-yielding seed was developing by bioengineering process. They use Biotechnology to improve the enzyme, It is a mutation or genetic engineering for traits improvement. Dami Mas will produce more Fresh Fruit Bunch, with the same exact land area.
• Keep food safe to eat. Scientists can more accurately find unwanted viruses and bacteria that may be present in food. This will cause an even lower risk of food-borne illnesses.
• New food varieties. Biotechnology can extend advances in cross-breeding, allowing for new food varieties. like has been mention above the new breed of guava from combining 2 traits of different types of guava to produce the new one that more supreme than its predecessor. Or seedless watermelon. Biotechnology can also develop food with better flavor and a better nutrient profile.

So food is more than a social media hashtag. it’s more than meets the eye. In case you want to be more just cool kids who take a pic of delicious food but also be the cool kids who invented deliciously nutritious food.

Join our Food Technology program or our Biotechnology program.

Abdurrahman Mas, MSc, Head Of Food Technology here at i3L said “The Food Technology program at i3L is designed to help students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to become future food technologists. The program provides students with hands-on laboratory training and access to an extensive industry network. Our Food Technology program makes i3L the best place to be for students who aspire to be future food innovators.”