14th World Congress of Food Science and Technology 2008 Shanghai, China

by Rajiv Perumal

Final Year, BSc (Hons) Food Science, University of Nottingham, UK 26th November 2008

First Impressions

I will always remember those last few minutes before stepping off the plane in Shanghai. I was mentally preparing myself to keep an open mind and respect local customs. But really on my mind, I was looking forward to having the time of my life at my first World Congress of Food Science & Technology!

The city of Shanghai had a beautiful skyline, though quite hazy, or so I thought to myself as I was whizzed into the city zone on the world's first magnetic driven Maglev train going at 431 km/h. I could see tall buildings with clothes hanging from the balconies, each unit had an air conditioning unit and a satellite dish. There were people everywhere, you could just smell it in the humidity.

The Opening Ceremony

The evening kicked off with the opening ceremony as triumphant music resonated right through the hall. The ceremony was chaired by Prof. Pan Beilei (China), President of the Chinese Institute of Food Science & Technology (CIFST) There were speeches by the attending dignitaries, some of which included Prof. David Lineback (USA), IUFoST President 2007/08, Prof. Geoffrey Campbell-Platt (UK), President-Elect IUFoST, Ms. Helen Wild (UK), IFST Chief Executive and also Prof. Colin Dennis (UK), Director General of the Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association.

Upon arrival, I had already made friends from the U.K., Australia, Singapore and China, it was our first International Congress of Food Science - we lived in exciting times and just to be there standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the most intelligent minds in the Food Science world was inspiring.

Education in Food Science

I attended a Round Table session entitled "Food Science and Technology Education" on the first day. Having been a student of Food Sciences in the UK and on exchange in Australia, I was curious to know how the rest of the world educated their future Food Scientists. Prof. Pingfan Rao (China), Vice-President of the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology gave a brief presentation on his views on "Education in Food Science around the World". His talk was humorous, and at one point entertained the audience with a comparison by one of his students of the world famous Harvard University against the lesser known Fuzhou University. He jokingly compared with bias the superior size and resources of Fuzhou University to the inferior Harvard University. However, while most people were laughing, I realised that a lot of what he said would come true, and Fuzhou University could really achieve far more than Harvard given its current track record of growth and excellence. Also I noted as food science student numbers were dropping in Europe, the numbers were steadily increasing in China and East Asia.

I also learnt from a Professor from University of Campinas, Brazil where Food Engineering/Manufacturing is widely considered by the population as high class profession, there has been large numbers of highly qualified professionals entering the food industry with significant expertise. I also heard of a Distance Learning Project, aimed at increasing the workforce in underdeveloped countries in Africa by offering training and qualifications via self learning using CDROMs. I found it intriguing that the IUFoST community was so united in tackling the issue of shortage of food supply in poor African countries.

Shanghai by Night

Later that evening we had a Shanghai Night which was a traditional Chinese dinner where exotic seafood dishes served. I met and networked with friends from Australia, Korea and Japan. Below are just some pictures of the array of interesting dishes we enjoyed that night.

Plenary Lectures

The next day, Prof. Patrick Wall (Ireland), Professor of Public Health in University College Dublin gave an entertaining lecture on Food Safety. He stressed on the importance of training staff up to HACCP standards rather than practising the wrong kind of HACCP - 'Have A Cup of Coffee and Pray'! He also recognised the increasingly important role we Food Scientists have in the globalised world, relating this to the melamine issue on going in China which in turn had exported its milk problems to the rest of the world.

Prof. Soichi Arai (Japan) gave an enlightening lecture about functional foods. His interesting talk stirred debate around the room about the concept and use of functional foods in today's modern world. Experts from around the hall asked questions about effective labelling and strict regulation of the health claims of functional foods. Prof. Arai had also cited in his work for the potential use of nutrigenomics in investigating the efficacy of functional foods. He also mentioned that one day there will be "made to order" functional foods available for any individual who wants it - a type of personalised nutrition.

As I left the hall, I passed a giant board (see picture) displaying new IAFoST fellows and stopped to have a look. I recognised a legendary face, now retired; Prof. John Mitchell from my University of Nottingham was a recipient of the IAFoST fellowship. It was a proud moment to recognise the contribution of my former lecturer to the wider food science community.

Food Safety Forum

At the Food Safety Forum, a number of speakers from many countries came forward to talk about the importance and implementation of Food Safety measures. Prof. Colin Dennis (UK), the Director-General of the CCFRA in Gloucestershire, UK gave the opening talk. In his talk, he gave explained approaches to be taken when considering Food Safety through the supply chain. He spoke of an Integrated Approach which he applied to Crop and Animal Production. He applied principles such as Process Validation, Temperature Control, Hygienic Environments, etc to the chain right through harvest/slaughter, processing, packaging, and distribution to the consumer. The large number of participants at the forum took the opportunity to learn best practices and shared their interests on the issue. Through this forum not only did I develop a deeper understanding on the importance of Food Safety throughout the supply chain, but I was also able to relate a lot of what I learnt to what I was being taught at university.

International Students College Party

The distinguished Shanghai Institute of Technology played host to the International Students College Party, themed "Cherish The Present, Embrace The Future". The night was filled with performances by Chinese students and some team games for the international students to join in. There was a traditional Chinese performance as well as a more modern hip-hop break dance which really surprised many of the international students. We were also treated to a variety of popular Chinese cakes and snacks. The night was filled with laughter and fun, and it was a great setting to get to know some of the new friends I had made.

The host university also invited a TV crew to film the event. Many Chinese students took the opportunity to meet many international students and exchanging cards while wanting to keep in touch with us. Likewise I met many more friends that night, from Finland, Slovenia, USA, Canada, Switzerland, France and Croatia. Without doubt, the whole night was such a great way to break the ice between students and a thrilling experience to feel a sense of belonging to part of the future generation of Food Scientists of the future!

The Wonders of Shanghai

One evening, a few students decided to go out and explore the city of Shanghai. We visited the high street, the famous Shanghai Bund, and Shanghai's Old Town where we practiced our negotiation skills as we learnt the art of bargaining. In some instances we were expected to knock down the price as low as 80% of its starting price. There were multitudes of people from different walks of life, some trying to sell us watches, some were professionals and others were just going about their day to day lives. It was interesting to appreciate the dynamics of such a modern society within a nation with so many diverse traditional and cultural beliefs functioning with harmony.

Food Science in Space

Refreshed with Shanghai's modern and cultural sights, the final day of the conference kicked off with a plenary lecture by one of my most respected Food Scientists, Prof. Paul Singh (USA), Professor of Food Engineering, University of California, Davis, and co-author of my Food Engineering Textbook! Prof Paul spoke about the development of food science in space. His was one of the most remarkable lectures I have ever attended. He talked about the history of food in previous space ventures, the role of food in manned short term and longer space missions as well as opportunities for research for food scientists and food engineers. He explored the different ways of processing food in space, the challenges NASA faced in trying to create a sustainable living regime for astronauts during missions. One of the biggest challenges was the supply of food. While it was simplistic to believe and continue sending food grown on earth directly into space, the cost of fuel to make this possible was soaring. He stressed the key to overcoming the problem was to understood the right dietary and psychological needs of the astronauts. His talk was primarily about designing food systems for manned space exploration and a lot of feedback was generated about the possibilities of technological advances that we as food scientists could bring about.

Technical Tour - Bright Dairy Factory

The organisers also arranged for participants to visit the Bright Dairy Factory, a well known dairy producer in China, implicated in the manufacture of melamine-contaminated White Rabbit sweets. The technical tour took us through its yoghurt manufacturing plant where we engaged in a tour to see how yoghurt was made in a safe and hygienic manner. Everything I learned at university about manufacturing principles, in-house lab testing, etc were practiced in just the same way halfway around the world!

Networking Opportunities

The thing I enjoyed the most about the whole Congress was the people I met. To be in an environment of like-minded professionals made me feel I was in the right profession and kept me motivated to study hard on my return. I had the unique opportunity to network with some great people. One was the Roger Bektash, the Scientific Affairs Director of Mars Inc. based in Australia. As I had just completed a year-long industrial placement with Mars in Slough, UK, I managed to share a good conversation with him about the way Mars works as a private establishment. On another occasion, I met Prof. Paul Singh's colleague, and the co-author of my Food Engineering textbook, Prof. Dennis Heldman of the Institute of Food Technologists, USA.

During breakfast one morning, I decided to choose a random table and meet some new people. I chose a table and soon discovered he was the Chief Scientific Officer of General Mills in the USA! He even knew my academic tutor, Prof. Sandra Hill, back in Sutton Bonington and was going to meet her in a few weeks.

I met an IUFoST fellow from South Africa, Dr. Jessy van Wyk, also a council member of SAAFoST who told me to look her up if I made it to the next World Congress to be held there in 2010. Not to mention the countless Chinese students who were ever so curious about us food science students from other countries. I also managed to catch up with Dr. Anil de Sequeira, the Head of Food Science at Bath Spa University. We first met in 2007 at the IFST Spring Conference in Belfast. It was a great moment to see him again all the way in China. Anil also introduced me to Ms. Helen Wild of the IFST-UK.

As many networking opportunities as I had I did not anticipate one more which took me completely by surprise. One morning as I had breakfast, I was joined by a Chinese man who later introduced himself as the Governor of Jiangxi province in China. He was in Shanghai to close a billion dollar deal to open a Ford car engine factory in his province, and his negotiations had been very successful. He left me staring at my morning cereal in awe as he left to catch his flight back to his office at Jiangxi province.

As the conference drew to a close, Prof. Geoffrey Campbell-Platt was installed as the new IUFoST president and there was much to look forward to in the year ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed the Congress and felt I utilised my opportunity to network to its furthest extent as a student as I look forward to such future opportunities.

To conclude, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for the sponsorship kindly provided by the UKFFoST. The atmosphere of the conference had been one of relentless learning and constantly instilling the habit of asking questions and fuelling the thirst for knowledge. I regard this opportunity as once in a lifetime, and since my return I have shared many of my experiences with my university academics and friends alike. Without the sponsorship it would have been impossible for me to make good use of this unique opportunity to see firsthand the fastest developing nation and to participate and be a part of the 14th International Congress of Food Science and Technology 2008.

Thank You!