SEMARANG- Politeknik Negeri Semarang (Polines) students who are members of the Student Creativity Program team for Creative Initiatives (PKM-KC), launched an innovative application that aims to help the public monitor their sugar intake, called Glukosaw.
The Glucosaw application is designed to provide warnings and information regarding the sugar content in packaged products, especially for diabetes sufferers.
"The recent trend of dialysis among young people makes me concerned, especially since many of my friends around me consume sweet drinks without knowing the sugar content of these drinks. "After discussions with my supervisors, Mr. Mardiyanto and Mr. Afandi, we created an application that can provide education to consumers about the sugar content of the products they want to consume," said Muhammad Haidar Alfathin, as creator of the Glukosaw application.
By simply taking a picture of the nutritional value table on food or beverage packaging products, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology will automatically read and display sugar content information in text and voice form.
This feature categorizes sugar content into four levels, marked with the letters A to D. Category A indicates that the product is safe to consume because it contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar. Category B means the product contains between 0.5 and 6 grams of sugar, category C between 6 and 12 grams, and category D indicates that the product contains more than 12 grams of sugar, which should not be consumed in excess.
This sugar indicator labeling has been adjusted to the recommendations of WHO and the Ministry of Health, as well as BPOM regulations No. 1 of 2022 and BPOM No. 26 of 2021. On the other hand, the Ministry of Health recommends that daily sugar consumption should not exceed 50 grams per day, or the equivalent of four tablespoons.
Along with displaying scan results, the app also provides additional alerts via vibration and sound. When the sugar content is categorized with the letters C or D, the application will provide warnings in the form of vibrations and sound warnings via the Text-to-Speech feature. This feature utilizes AI technology to analyze information accurately and convey it in language that is easy for users to understand.
This vibration and sound feature is designed to provide users with quick and intuitive warnings about high blood sugar levels to help visually impaired users.
"This application is very useful for people who are still confused about reading nutritional value labels, the results displayed are also appropriate and easy to understand. "This application is very helpful, especially since many packaged foods or drinks have a high sugar content, so this is a good step to make it easier for people to maintain their daily sugar intake," said Dr. Rahmi Handayani, Semarang State Polytechnic polyclinic doctor.
"With this application, we hope to make it easier for consumers, especially diabetics, to monitor their daily sugar intake. "We believe that technology can be an effective tool in supporting public health," said Mardiyono, as supervisor lecturer.
Currently the Glukosaw team consisting of Muhammad Haidar AF, Achmad Muchibin, Zulfa Rosya NR, Aufaa Hamiidah, and Fasya Namila T. are taking part in the 2024 PKM-KC competition organized by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education through the Directorate General. Belmawa (Directorate General of Learning and Student Affairs).
This application is expected to increase public awareness to maintain daily sugar intake patterns by consuming healthier products (sugar content that is safe for health). It also encourages beverage manufacturers to contribute to maintaining a balanced sugar intake through healthier products.
This innovation is a form of POLINES students' commitment to supporting public health through the use of renewable technology. (*/yet)
Source: jatengpos.co.id