THE adage “out of adversity comes opportunity” rings true for the Food Safety and Quality Division of the Penang State Health Department during the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with restrictions that brought their food safety promotion activities, especially in schools, to a halt, the team seized the chance to innovate.
According to Deputy State Health Director (Food Safety and Quality) Rafeah Sibil, the lockdown provided the impetus for her team to create an engaging educational tool to teach food safety to all age groups, with a particular focus on school students.
Calling themselves the Funtastic Group, the team brainstormed and developed a unique card game, aptly named Germ Buster Edu-Card Games: Germ Attack!
Food safety promotions usually require significant financial resources, manpower, and time. With these limitations in mind, the team embarked on a mission to create a fun and cost-effective learning medium.
“This educational card game covers key food safety topics, including bacteria responsible for food poisoning, its symptoms, preventive measures, and control strategies for managing food poisoning incidents,” Rafeah explained.
Designed to be both a self-learning tool and a teaching aid, the card game embodies the group’s motto: ‘We Make Food Safety Learning More FUN!’
Rafeah acknowledged the hurdles faced while developing and implementing the Germ Buster Edu-Card Games: Germ Attack! Evaluating the effectiveness of this innovation posed a unique challenge.
“For example, if we create an automatic cooking machine, its efficiency can be directly assessed by how well it operates.
“But for our innovation, its success isn’t just measured by the completion of the card game but also by how effectively students understand the food safety messages conveyed, thus raising awareness,” she said.
Balancing technical accuracy with engaging gameplay was another significant challenge. “Our team consisted entirely of food technology officers, which limited our design expertise. To overcome this, the team sought inspiration from existing card games to enhance the design of their product,” Rafeah said.
The team’s ambitions extended to making the game accessible to diverse audiences. Currently available in Malay and English, they plan to produce versions in Mandarin and Tamil as well. Rafeah also noted the difficulty of assessing students’ understanding, which required extensive collaboration and school feedback.
In July 2024, the Funtastic Group tested their game at the Asian Board Games Festival Malaysia, in partnership with the George Town Festival at 1st Avenue. Buoyed by the positive response, the team entered the Penang State Innovation Competition 2024 in November. Their innovative approach won them the championship in the Innovative and Creative Group (KIK) category for Service Delivery.
This recognition earned the group a cash prize of RM5,000, a trophy, and a certificate of appreciation.
Rafeah attributed this success to the dedication of the Funtastic Group members: Nor Izwan Isa (team leader), Hamiza Othman, Mahanum Mahmud, Juliana Jaafar, Siti Anarita Mohamad, Khor Ruying, Muhammad Syamil Izwan Halili, Syairani Edlyana Dzulkifli, and Nur Alyaa Azhar.
The group has also earned other notable accolades, including the UUM Gold Award at the International Learning Innovation Competition and the Champion Award (Creative Category) at the 2024 Innovative and Creative Group Convention organised by the Penang State Health Department in October.
Team leader Nor Izwan expressed hope for Germ Buster Edu-Card Games: Germ Attack! to be widely adopted, not just in Penang’s schools but across Malaysia.
“This innovation has immense potential to raise awareness about food safety among students and teachers nationwide. It can also help reduce food poisoning incidents in schools,” he said.
The team also envisions the game gaining traction among parents, food handlers, and the general public, fostering a culture of food safety in daily life.
Looking ahead, the group aims to showcase their innovation on international platforms. They plan to participate in the Bangkok International Intellectual Property, Invention, Innovation and Technology Exposition (IPITEx) in February 2025, held in conjunction with Thailand Inventors’ Day.
“We also aspire for our innovation to reach international stages through participation in global competitions.
“We also appreciate the efforts of the state Health Department and the Penang State Secretariat Office for inviting our group to participate in the New Horizon Innovative and Creative Group project refinement workshops, which were instrumental in strengthening our innovation efforts,” Nor Izwan said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Law Suun Ting