CHENNAI: A two-day international conference to highlight the importance of millets for food security and sustainability was inaugurated on Thursday. The conference - FOODS 2023 - was organised by the food science department of MOP Vaishnav College for Women (Autonomous) and saw the participation of over 250 delegates from across the country.
The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Archna Prasad, principal of the college, in the presence of chief guest C Anandharamakrishnan, director, CSIR National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum and guest of honour Israel Oliver Kind, biodiversity director at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.
Anandharamakrishnan highlighted the role of millet as a superfood, focusing on the various processing techniques that can help increase nutritional quality and the challenges faced during processing. King provided insights on nutritional poverty in India and the dependence of millet cultivation on the local food culture. He also emphasised the need to strengthen resilience and take millets to the mainstream through public policies.