UGM hosts international food conference

UGM hosts international food conference

YOGYAKARTA: Some 200 academics, researchers, government
officials and representatives from food companies are attending a
two-day international conference on functional and health foods,
which began on Tuesday.

The forum is being held on the campus of Gadjah Mada
University.

Chairman of the conference organizing committee Sri Raharjo
said the forum would give an opportunity for researchers, food
companies, ingredient suppliers and policy makers to share ideas
for the advancement of functional food industry that has a
positive impact on economic growth and the utilization of
agricultural products.

He said that research on functional food, food that has been
fortified with added vitamins and minerals, has been widely
conducted in both developed and developing countries. However, he
said, surveys in developing countries were still facing
difficulties in term of support and infrastructure to make them
useful for the food industry.

The participants included representatives from Belgium, Japan
and the Netherlands. Indonesian delegates include researchers
from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the
Technology Assessment and Application Agency (BPPT). --JP