I am honored to have been invited as a Plenary Speaker and Guest of Honor at the Probiotics and Functional Foods Asia Summit 2023, organized by The Indigenous Food Research Consortium of MMSU, DMMMSu, and ISPSC. The summit, themed “FLAM (From Lab to Accelerated to the Market/Table: Exploring Probiotics and Functional Foods in Bridging Health and Nutrition Divides),” took place in the City of Batac, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, from December 4-6, 2023.
Plenary Address
During the inaugural session of this prestigious international summit, I delivered a plenary talk on “Probiotics, Paraprobiotics, and Postbiotics in Traditional Fermented Foods: The Emerging Sources for Functional Foods and Biotherapy.” My presentation focused on the role of these bioactive components in traditional fermented foods, exploring their potential for functional food development and biotherapy.
Conference Highlights
The summit brought together over 400 participants, including senior officials from various ministries, academics, researchers, students, enterprises, donor agencies, and development organizations from around the globe. It was a privilege to engage with such a diverse and distinguished audience.
Project Success
I am particularly proud to see the success of the CHED-funded research project titled “Advancing Ilocos Indigenous Food Plant (IFP) Food Systems through Academia-Industry Collaborative Research and Innovations Toward Healthy Food Security.” This project, which I have been involved with since its inception, has seen remarkable progress. Researchers from MMSU, DMMMSU, and ISPSC, along with participants from food and pharmaceutical enterprises in the Philippines, have been trained at my laboratory at the AIT Food Innovation, Nutrition, and Health (FINH). I am thrilled to see that the probiotics-based fermented products are now ready for piloting.
Acknowledgements
My sincere thanks to the organizers for the opportunity to contribute to this significant event and for their dedication to advancing knowledge and innovation in probiotics and functional foods. Congratulations to all involved for the successful execution of this summit.
