A Global Call for IUFoST Participation: Sustainability and Transformation of Food Systems
Responding to needs identified through the UN sustainable food system summit 2021, the Director General of FAO has established a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) to provide independent advice in the implementation of food systems transformations at national, regional and global levels. Two IAFoST fellows, Prof. Dr. Joachim von Braun of the University of Bonn and IUFoST Distinguished Lecturer at the 21st World Congress in Singapore, and Dr. Aman Wirakartakusumah, IUFoST President, are invited members of SAC FAO. IUFoST President Aman writes here about some of the challenges facing the sustainability and transformation of food systems and the invitation to IUFoST and IAFoST.
Many countries need assistance and innovation to successfully achieve the food system transformation that fits their local and regional situations. IUFoST through its adhering bodies and Academy and expert working groups around the world are invited to actively participate in these efforts. We should continue providing scientific advice through roundtable discussions, policy briefs and other channels as a direction for scientific exploration and technological innovation needed by countries and communities. Sound and independent scientific advice could be bridged to the needy, and partnership with other stakeholders and communities is the key to achieve transformations toward sustainable food systems.
Editorial Continues here
Circulation and reproduction are welcome with attribution to IUFoST News Brief, February 2023.
International Year of Millets 2023: IUFoST Scientific Roundtable (SRD) March 31, 2023
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at its 75th Session on March 5, 2021 declared this Year 2023 as 'The International Year of Millets’ (IYM 2023). This declaration was followed up in the last week of September 2021 when the UN Food Safety Summit (UNFSS) met and emphasized the consumption of varieties of millets in the composite diet for a Sustainable Food System. IUFoST was one of the invited and leading organizations that gave scientific input to this UN Summit. IUFoST experts focused on the role of food science and technology in achieving sustainable and healthy diets across nations. In this International year of Millets, the first IUFoST Scientific Roundtable of 2023 focuses on Millets for Enhancing Agri-economy, Nutrition, Environmental, and Sustainable Development Goals and is slated for 31 March 2023.
Millets are grown in more than 130 countries. They represent components of traditional foods consumed by more than 600 million people daily in Asia and Africa. Millets do require less water to grow and therefore are much lower in the carbon and water footprints. Most importantly millets have a good plant-based nutrition profile and are suitable for all strata of the economy in the society. The science and technology of millets suggest these grains are affordable and are used extensively by small and medium industries in Asia and Africa to make ready for consumption using pre-processing methods such as sprouting and drying, roasting, puffing, and flours and even in multigrain dietary patterns.
Thus the focus of this IUFoST - SRD would be to understand how Food Science and Technology can take the Challenges in the Millet Chain (MC) to deliver the needed end product to the consumer and the raw material for the food industries to make potentially nutritious, healthy and safe food products. The global experts will address the relevant issues in food science and technology applicable to millets and their role to enhance the global and regional awareness of dietary patterns with better nutrition and improved health through regular consumption of millets-based products. - Vish Prakash
Expert Speakers in the IUFoST SRD on Millets for Enhancing Agri-economy, Nutrition, Environmental and Sustainable Development Goals, Friday, March 31 beginning at 07.00 Eastern Time (GMT-4 for this date) include Ismahane Elouafi, PhD – Role of Millets in a Dynamic Agroecosystem, FAO Chief Scientist; Ruth Oniang’o, PhD – Agricultural Diversity of African Millets, Founder and Director of Rural Outreach Africa, Kenya; CV Ratnavathi, PhD - Global Perspective on History of Production, Use & Agri-economics of Millet: Indian Institute of Millets Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India; Anoma Chandrasekara, PhD - Bioactives and Health Implications of Millet: Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka; Peter Pressman, MD - Millet - Demystifying Health Claims: Peter Pressman, University of Maine, USA.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rqyd8ozPTMyTEafAIf7kMQ
The full programme and speaker profiles will be provided to all registrants.
IUFoST Codex Committee reports
IUFoST introduced, in collaboration with other partners (AIDMSO and other member countries) two substantial scientific documents related to the extrapolation of MRLs and the possibility of using Codex guidance to address the needs of Developing Countries:
- CRD10 deals with the possible reliance on the codex Extrapolation methodology to derive MRLs for Camel tissues – This paper calls on the Extrapolation WG to consider reviewing the current criteria for extrapolation to include Camels as a minor species possibly associated with Ruminants.
- CRD11 deals with the application of this extrapolation guideline to derive MRLs for aquaculture finfish species, based on MRLs that Codex established for other given fish species. The application was made for drugs needed in the aquaculture industry of the Middle East and North African region.
These two papers, developed through IUFoST Disciplinary Grouping GForSS, represent a tangible scientific contribution that IUFoST introduced with impacts addressing the needs of developing countries and developing food production sectors (aquaculture in developing countries and Camel meat and Camel milk production sectors).
Attention: IUFoST Working groups, Task Forces, Adhering Body Councils and colleagues, College of Early Career Scientists, Fellows and Governance members
Call is underway for registration and completion of internal IUFoST information forms to facilitate the IUFoST Panels, Platforms, scientific actions and Expert Resource within IUFoST and IAFoST. Registration is open to those working within IUFoST and IAFoST or within the IUFoST national scientific members - our Adhering Bodies. Registration is the necessary first step. You will then be invited to complete the information form.
Register here: https://iufost.org/user/register
Please remember your username and password as you will be using them going forward to take part in Union activities.
IUFoST Supported Events
4th IUFoST-Japan Webinar on Food Measurement and Characterization
10 March, 2023 13.00 - 15.25 (JST)
Registration: https://sites.google.com/view/iufost-japan-event
5th IUFoST-Japan Webinar on Food Functionality
10 March 2023, 15.30 - 17.45 (JST)
Registration: https://sites.google.com/view/iufost-japan-event
International Forum on Food Safety and Health 2023, IUFoST and CIFST
26 to 28 April 2023 - Beijing, China.
Contact: danxiaoya@cifst.org.cn
INNOVA 2023, 11th International Symposium on Food Innovation and Development
27 to 29 September 2023 - Montevideo, Uruguay
https://www.innova-uy.com
17th ASEAN Food Conference 2023 (AFC)
24 to 27 October 2023
Borneo Convention Centre, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Theme: "Future of Food In ASEAN: What’s Next?"
Abstract Submission deadline 15 May 2023
Jointly organised by the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST) and the Federation of Institutes of Food Science and Technology in ASEAN (FIFSTA)
https://afc2023my.com/
ISNFF 2023, Annual Conference and Exhibition of the International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods
10 - 13 December 2023
Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. For information and updates: www.isnff.org
IUFoST World Congress - the 22nd World Congress of Food Science and Technology
8 to 12 September 2024 - Rimini, Italy
Sign up to receive the latest updates from the congress website
https://iufost2024-italy.com/
