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[av_heading heading=’Commercialization of food products’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Wednesday, March 8, 2017
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CITING the success of the Luzon and Visayas leg, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), culminated last year’s Technology Transfer Day in Davao City.
DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the Mindanao-wide activity aims to promote the DOST generated and assisted technologies to its intended beneficiaries, stakeholders, and the private sectors.
For her part, DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said the technologies presented are the products of the research and development that were conducted for the last three years.
The event featured different technologies available for adoption.
“We are selling technologies, not products,” Guevara clarified.
The participants and visitors were awed by new products that were still new, or maybe still out of the market in some areas – most of which were produced out of agricultural commodities.
These products were produced using food processing equipment for the DOST’s Food Innovation Centers (FICs).
The technologies that were featured included those for the agriculture, food industry, health, environment and disaster risk reduction, crafts and textiles, and the ICT sectors.
The Technology Transfer Day that was held in Davao was organized by the Region-11 office of the DOST in collaboration with Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), Science and Technology Information Institute (STII), MindaDOST, DCCCII, and MinBC.
On the other hand, TAPI Director Edgar I. Garcia said the event showcased Filipino innovations that aim to initiate partnerships among technology generators, research institutions, investors and stakeholders.
Garcia said that through the event, ground of opportunities were opened for Mindanao enterprises and organizations to invest on local technologies for licensing and adoption in the same areas such as Agricultural Productivity, Industry Competitiveness, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Management and quality healthcare.
The Mindanao Technology Transfer Day also promoted a synergy of ideas and experiences from participants, innovators and exhibitors on how these local technologies can move the Philippine economy forward as the entrepreneurs benefitted from locally available equipment and products which are competitive enough to generate income.
Through the event, TAPI is looking forward to helping more enterprises and organizations to transfer and adopt Filipino innovations for the interest and benefit of the general public, guided by Republic Act 10055, or the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009.
Commercialization of food products poses the biggest challenge, Guevara says.
“I believe that we have the products to make the Philippines food secure. Making these available, affordable, and accessible will only happen if we have the FICs,” says Guevara.
Food Innovation Centers were developed in 2015 housing five DOST-developed technologies, namely: vacuum packaging machine, water retort, vacuum fryer, spray dryer, and freeze dryer.
The spray dryer transforms liquids into powder instantly, while the freeze dryer produces dried materials but prolongs shelf life and enables a more convenient way of transporting these materials.
While the water retort machine improves shelf-life of food products even in non-refrigerated conditions, and the vacuum fryer creates crunchy products that are low in fat and high in fiber with minimal changes in color and flavor./PN
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