A team of students from the Faculty of Animal Science (Fapet) and the Faculty of Engineering (FT) at Universitas Brawijaya (UB) has successfully developed a new technology called “SMART COMA,” an application capable of detecting the freshness of beef based on color changes. This activity took place at the Animal Product Technology Laboratory, Fapet UB.
Beef, popular for its high nutritional content and health benefits, is highly perishable. This perishability is linked to the increase in biogenic amine levels, which can cause severe food poisoning. Data from the World Health Organization (2022) indicates that over 200 types of diseases stem from food poisoning, affecting more than 600 million people and causing 420,000 deaths annually.
Addressing this urgent issue, the team from the Student Creativity Program – Exact Research (PKM-RE) at UB, consisting of Dafa Rafi’ul Laudza as the leader, along with Muhammad Seftian Afandi, Ardian Yhosi Setyawan, and Muhammad Zinedine Khawarizmy, under the guidance of Dr. Abdul Manab, designed a research project titled “Development of Smart Coated Meat Sensor Technology and Freshness Detection with Colorimetric Method Based on IoT-Integrated Paper Strip.”
The application features a portable kit made using 3D printing materials, a TCS3200 sensor for color reading, an arduino ESP32 as a microcontroller, a battery for power supply, and a button for activation. The detection process starts with color changes on a paper strip coated with ninhydrin reagent substituted with bromocresol purple. This color change occurs due to the interaction with biogenic amines formed during meat spoilage. The sensor reads the color change, classifies it based on the RGB module, and converts it into quantitative data displayed through the “SMART COMA” application on a smartphone.
“Through this innovation, we hope to enhance food safety in the livestock sector and protect public health, aligning with SDG goal 3 for good health and well-being,” said Dafa Rafi’ul, the team leader.
The benefits of this research are expected to maintain the quality and safety of beef during storage. This is achieved through the use of xanthone in intelligent packaging, rich in antioxidants and antimicrobials, combined with a smart coated meat sensor based on paper strips integrated with the Internet of Things. (TIM/dfh)
