The field trip located at PT Yakult Indonesia Persada Ngoro-Mojokerto was held on Tuesday (14/11/23) from 10 am to 12 pm. This field trip activity was carried out as a series of learning activities for the Nutrition Productivity Course which was attended by all 5th Semester Students of the Nutrition undergraduate study program of FKM UNAIR. By holding this field trip activity, it is hoped that students can observe directly and reflect on the extent of knowledge that has been obtained during lectures in the classroom.
The group of students departed from Universitas Airlangga around 8 a.m. accompanied by several lecturers, namely Mrs. Lailatul Muniroh, S.KM, M.Kes, Mr. Dominikus Raditya Atmaka, S.Gz, MPH, Mrs. Tiara Tivany Simangunsong, S.Gz, MPH, and Mrs. Azizah Ajeng Pratiwi, S.Gz, M.Gizi as the lecturer of Nutrition Productivity course. The trip took two hours until the group arrived at PT Yakult Indonesia Persada at 10 am. Upon arrival, the group was welcomed by the public relations staff of PT Yakult to enter the hall room located on the second floor of the building and get one bottle of Yakult products and leaflets for free.
The activity was opened with a speech given by Yakult’s Public Relations staff. This was followed by an explanation of the history of Yakult. In Indonesia alone, Yakult has two factories, located in Sukabumi, West Java as the Main Factory Center, and a second factory located in Ngoro Industrial Park, Mojokerto, East Java. The purpose of opening the second factory located in Mojokerto is to provide Yakult products to Eastern Indonesia, such as East Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. In addition, the condition at the central factory that has exceeded production capacity is also the background of the establishment of the second factory.
In addition to the history of Yakult, the speaker said that Yakult served as the pioneer of the world’s first commercially available probiotic drink. The speaker also explained the ingredients that will be used in the process of making Yakult, as well as the materials for making the Yakult bottle itself. After a presentation, the whole group of students was invited to start a tour of the production process.
The tour began by showing the L. casei Shirota strain of bacteria used in the Yakult manufacturing process. Then the Yakult public relations staff explained the whole series of the Yakult manufacturing process, starting from the process of breeding bacteria and fermentation, the packaging process, to the process of making the Yakult bottle itself. This tour was carried out with a system where each student was allowed to walk into a long hallway that was limited by glass on each side. When observing the packaging process, students observed through the upper part of the hallway. Most of the processes in the Yakult factory have been carried out using sophisticated machines. During this tour, visitors are not allowed to play on cell phones or take pictures to maintain the sterility of the production process.
After finishing the tour of the production process, students were invited to enter a room containing screens and televisions displaying Yakult history videos. There was also a spot for 3D photos in the room. Then, after the tour was over, all students re-entered the hall and were given two bottles of Yakult products for free. In the hall, a question and answer session was held. Students took advantage of the moment to ask about the food management system for Yakult workers. The total number of workers in the factory is 350 people with the work system running from Monday to Friday, which is divided into two work shifts, namely the morning shift which starts at 6 am to 3 pm and the afternoon shift which starts at 2 pm to 11 pm. This field trip activity was closed with a documentation session and group prayer before the whole group of students continued their journey back to Airlangga University.
Author : Arvina Tria Nitami