Sleman Students Develop Device to Detect Spoiled Food in Free Nutritious Meal Programme

Two students from SMPN 1 Turi in Sleman Regency have developed a device capable of detecting spoiled food in just five seconds, inspired by reports of food poisoning incidents involving the government’s Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. Pradipta Widhi Nugroho and Abyan Syahlefi, both members of the school’s Youth Scientific Work (KIR) extracurricular club, created the innovation after researching news about the programme.

“We saw several news reports about MBG food poisoning. After that, we discussed it and came up with the idea to make a device that can detect spoiled food,” Abyan explained when met at the school on Thursday (23/7). After consulting with their supervising teacher, the students began researching, gathering components, and conducting multiple trials. The assembly process was relatively straightforward, but programming the device proved challenging and took about two weeks, with the entire project spanning over three months.

The MBG detector uses a 1-litre food container fitted with several sensors on the lid to identify factors indicating spoilage. A food sample is placed inside, and within five seconds, a small screen displays whether the food is safe or not. The device can also connect to a mobile phone via WiFi to show detailed data from the sensors, which measure humidity, alcohol content, and air quality. Abyan noted that the components were easy to find online and the total cost was around Rp 500,000.

Their supervising teacher, Anik Marwati, stated that the device has been tested multiple times on MBG meals arriving at the school, with no spoiled food detected so far. The invention has passed the first stage of the National Student Research Olympiad (OPSI) and is set to proceed to the presentation stage in Jakarta.