IPB University’s PreciFoods Innovation, Helps Choose Restaurant Menus Based on Nutritional Needs
Choosing food at a restaurant is often a dilemma for many people. The wide variety of menu items with different flavors makes it difficult for consumers to decide, especially when it comes to selecting options that meet their body’s nutritional needs.
To address this challenge, innovators at IPB University developed PreciFoods, an intelligent Decision Support System (SPK) with a precision nutrition approach. This innovation is included in the 2025 edition of the 117 Indonesian Innovations by the Business Innovation Center.
“The PreciFoods innovation develops a DSS using a genetic algorithm with a precision nutrition approach to generate comprehensive and dynamic menu recommendations tailored to each individual,” said the leader of the development team, Prof Kudang Boro Seminar.
He explained that the menu recommendations generated by this system take into account various variables, such as an individual’s health history and status, physical activity, dietary patterns, and socioeconomic and psychosocial characteristics. Nevertheless, the system still considers each user’s preferences or tastes.
According to him, the diversity of Indonesian cuisine and the public’s varied tastes in food often make it a challenge to provide menus that meet nutritional needs. This is particularly felt by consumers with specific needs, such as differences in age, gender, weight, and height, as well as those with dietary restrictions due to medical conditions.
“This innovation is designed to provide everyone with guidance in choosing food that suits their tastes while remaining healthy,” he said.
The PreciFoods app is offered to restaurants both online and offline that have recipe data and ingredient lists for each dish on their menu. Participating restaurants can access the PreciFoods database to promote and recommend healthier menu options tailored to customers’ individual needs.
Through this app, consumers can also obtain information about the calories and nutritional content of every dish served by the restaurant. This information has been difficult to obtain because many restaurants use different recipes and ingredient compositions, even if the dish names are the same.
In addition to helping consumers maintain their eating habits and meet their nutritional needs more specifically, this innovation also opens opportunities for restaurant owners to provide more personalized service while increasing the commercial value of their businesses.
In the long term, PreciFoods also has the potential to be utilized by various food service providers such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, and specialized care facilities. This system can be used to provide healthy meal options that are tailored to customers’ individual needs.
Prof Kudang and his team hope that the development of PreciFoods can make a tangible contribution to building a healthier and more sustainable national food system by leveraging precise and personalized community data. (dh) (IAAS/FHD)
