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J. R. BLANCHFIELD, External Affairs, Institute of Food Science & Technology, 17 Arabia Close, Chingford, London, E4 7DU, United Kingdom “Food insecurity” is an easy term to use, but it masks daily hunger for 840 million people (200 million of them children), mostly in developing countries; and 24,000 deaths a day from malnutrition-related diseases. The causes are multi-factorial, and cannot be cured by food science and technology alone, but cannot be cured without food science and technology. Many individual food scientists and technologists in developed countries are working on projects for/within developing countries, either directly or supporting their former students who have returned there. Some in developing countries are working on projects within their own countries. Many such projects can be of direct value in helping to improve the supply of food and clean water. However, such research projects exist in a piecemeal and uncoordinated way, and need to be collated and coordinated to deliver the optimum benefits. Such coordination needs to be done on a world scale by the International Union of Food Science & Technology (IUFoST); but only its adhering food science societies in each of the member countries have direct access to their own members and the means to solicit their members’ provision of information about what relevant projects they are doing. IUFoST has teamed up with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to create a joint database of research projects that can contribute to alleviation of food insecurity. This paper describes how the scheme has developed, what are the potential benefits and what is the role of food science societies such as IFT to help make it succeed.
Session 43, International outreach through global partnerships
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