Research Group of Food Product Development organized a community service program consisting of several activities in 2024. The partner of the program is “UKM Kerupuk Rambak Eco” located in Triyagan, Sukoharjo. This program is coordinated by Siswanti, S.TP., M.Sc. under the research group of Food Product Development of the Department of Food Science and Technology. Established in 2003, this small industry has now 4 staffs for helping the owner to produce the traditional cracker which is well-known as Kerupuk Rambak. According to Siswanti, S.TP., M.Sc., this community project was initiated because the quality of the products is not consistent, implying that some improvement in the production process is required. Therefore, in this community service program, the research group held a short lecture for all of the industry employees, particularly related to good manufacturing practices, quality of product and packaging aspect. “In this program the research group is not only organizing a lecture, but also giving equipment which are needed and very crucial for processing in this industry”, said Dr. Setyaningrum Ariviani, the chair of the research group. The processing equipment given to the industry included cutting machine. By using the new equipment, the processing capacity of the industry significantly increases and also the quality of the product significantly improved. This activity can be possible due to full support from Universitas Sebelas Maret through the scheme of Program Pengabdian Masyarakat – Hibah Grup Riset 2024. The industry was very grateful because they were involved in this community service program. They hope that this program can be continued in the future.
