HCMC – Vietnam’s first Food Ingredients International Symposium and Exhibition in HCMC have created a platform of knowledge in the field to local researchers and producers, the organizer said.
By Thai Hang - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Vietnam’s first Food Ingredients International Symposium and Exhibition in HCMC have created a platform of knowledge in the field to local researchers and producers, the organizer said.
Judith Meech, secretary general of International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) as a co-organizer alongside the Vietnam Association of Food Science and Technology, said the participation of many leading scientists and researchers made the two-day event that ended on Thursday a good forum for knowledge sharing. It also showed that Vietnam promised high potentials for the food ingredients industry, she said.
“The participation of many prestigious scientists and engineers in the first event of this kind in Vietnam fact has proved that the Vietnamese food industry is holding high potential,” she said.
Meech told the conference at the New World Saigon Hotel that the fast-growing and attractive food industry in Vietnam would possibly facilitate the development of food ingredients science and technologies.
According to Meech, her organization is deploying educational programs to support and share knowledge to Vietnamese students and researchers in the field, such as the IUFoST International Volunteer Professors in Saigon Technology University and other universities.
The global scientific organization for food science and technology that groups more than 65 national food science organizations around the world has supported programs and projects to increase the safety and security of the world’s food supply.
Luu Duan, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Food Science and Technology, said the topics presented by scientists in the symposium included functional food and food safety, providing participants with essential knowledge in the field.
“Besides, the international event is a precious opportunity to create the linkage between research and science with production,” he added.
According to the association, Vietnam’s fast-growing food processing industry has facilitated the development of materials and food ingredients as well as attracted famous producers of food and related products including Kerry, Vitablend, Roha Dyechem, Iprona and Reka Nutrition. However, Vietnam still has to import a large amount of ingredients as the local industry does not have the required knowledge and technology as well as manpower to boost production to meet the demand.
The Vietnam 2010 International Symposium and Exhibition attracted dozens of international scientists and engineers from the U.S., Australia, England, China, India and members of Federation of Institutes of Food Science and Technology in ASEAN (FIFSTA).