CHENNAI: MOP Vaishnav College for Women held a two-day International Conference on Innovations and Technological Advances in Food at their college premises in Nungambakkam on Monday and Tuesday. The aim was to bring together researchers, food experts, students, entrepreneurs, state and central ministries, and corporates to discuss the many facets of food technology. The event saw the participation of 370 students from 25 colleges from across the country. The inauguration, which took place on Monday, was presided by principal Lalitha Balakrishnan, in the presence of chief guest and vice-chancellor of the University of Madras, Dr P Duraiswamy, and guest of honour and country director of Nutrition
International Sucharita Dutta. “In the earlier years, we saw how an increase in food production led to the Green Revolution. Now, technology is being used to not only produce but also process and package foods in a manner that befits the safety and quality standards of today. Creating food security is a key detail that we must take into consideration in a growing country like ours,” said Dr Duraiswamy. In her speech, Dutta spoke on the rising threat of malnutrition in India, with specific reference to overnutrition, using statistical data to place India in a global perspective. The two-day event saw posters and oral presentations by several delegates.
Technical programmes were also held on topics such as Cryogenic Grinding – A Novel Approach to Size Reduction in Spices, Nutritional Metabolomics, Innovations in plat proteins – a Vegan Alternative, Innovation in Grain Processing, and Design and Development of the Mechanical Chef. Some of the speakers included Dr R Parthasarathi, principal scientist, CSIR; Dr Murlidhar Meghwal, NIFTEM, Haryana; and Dr Shilpa Bhupathiraju, instructor in Medicine and Associate Epidemiologist, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The valedictory function was held on Tuesday. Chief guest D Sabitha, additional chief secretary and managing director, Government of Tamil Nadu, distributed certificates to 400 students.