SOTECH PAFT-i joins 50th Annual Confab

By Mary Louise Magpusao

Twenty-five PAFT-i members from SOTECH joined the 50th Annual Philippine Association of Food Technologists Convention held at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City last June 6-8, 2011. convention theme was “Food Technology Beyond Boundaries”.

For the past few years, the Philippine Association of Food Technologists-Iota (PAFT-i) of the School of Technology actively participated in the annual convention. With the continuous exposure to the different food industries and food technology-related realities, the students’ interests in conferences also heightened.

In the history of PAFT-i of SOTECH, this year has certainly the most number of attendees. Eighteen students from the fourth year and seven students from the third years were accompanied by Dr. S.R Luzette T. Teruel, PAFT-i adviser.

A myriad of topics were discussed by experts such as the current and emerging global issues on food safety; the recent innovations in food packaging to ensure  safety and quality on food and ingredients; the important consideration in cross cultural sensory and consumer research; sustainable health chain from farm to folk; present and future challenges for food analysis; health, wellness and food technology – the golden triangle; an overview of food science and technology at the nanoscale level; global importance of food defense; health & flavour: striking the right balance; updates on sugar used in food and drink in the Philippines; and many other significant and current realities that have great impact in the food sector not only in the country but also to the other parts of the world.

Most of the topics may be mind-numbing due to their technical-nature yet the speakers have the ability get our attention and made us realize that those topics were absolutely interesting. The students and other professionals even have their pictures taken with the speakers as an appreciation for the lectures they imparted.

“Food Technology is a CRAFT,” said Dr. Miflora M. Gatchalian, the founding president of PAFT, Inc. “CRAFT is an acronym for Customer-oriented, Responsive to changing needs, Aiming at continual improvement, Focused on food safety and Total quality.”

Food Technology is indeed a craft for the reason that Food Technology produces something with care, skill and ingenuity. With this, everyone returned home not only with a bag of freebies in hand but also with priceless knowledge in mind. ■