ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOST presents roadmaps to ensure food safety

DOST presents roadmaps to ensure food safety

Published Oct 29, 2021 03:59 pm

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Friday, Oct. 29, laid out its planned programs and initiatives that seeks to ensure food safety in the country.

(Photo from Department of Science and Technology)

Undersecretary for Research and Development (R&D) Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevarra presented the DOST’s food safety roadmaps which will span from 2022 to 2028.

Among that problems and concerns that the agency seeks to address are food- and water-borne diseases, inadequate technical support for Micro-, Small-, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), knowledge gap on food safety, and lack of science-based evidence for food safety measures.

“In the coming years, we intend to invest more to further solve these problems through our new food safety roadmaps which will be implemented from 2022 to 2028,” Guevarra said in a virtual briefing.

She noted that the DOST’s food safety programs are focused on R&D), scientific and technological (S&T) services, knowledge and technology transfer and policy advocacy, and human resource development.

Research and development

The DOST will focus on the integrated food safety R&D program which seeks to support risk assessment studies and assist food industries.

The program will also cover R&D that will provide support for food testing of microbiological and chemical hazards, and establishment of food safety R&D hubs.

This program is led by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, and will require P523 million for its implementation.

S&T services

For its S&T services, Guevarra said the DOST intends to innovate on enhancement of testing capabilities for new food safety parameters, and development of proficiency testing materials to improve food safety.

The DOST will also focus on development of systems and procedures for new food safety related parameters, as well as integration and promotion of new food safety parameters.

The initiative is led by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, and will require a budget of P1.5 billion.

Human resource development

“On human resource development, we intend to conduct a competency-based training program for food safety team members, R&D personnel, lab analysts, and local government units,” Guevarra said.

“We will also develop food safety modules and a massive open online course on food safety, and integrate food safety in disaster management,” she added.

This program is led by the DOST-Calabarzon, and will be provided with a budget of P52 million.

Tech transfer, policy advocacy

For this initiative, the DOST will focus on the creation of food safety and technology programs to ensure access to safe and nutritious food, and to push for research for policy advocacy on national food safety.

The DOST’s knowledge and technology transfer program is led by the Technology Application and Promotion Institute, while the policy advocacy on food safety is headed by the National Research Council of the Philippines.

Both initiatives will be needing P418 million for its implementation

“To properly implement our priorities and plans, we intend to explore and establish more collaborations and scientific cooperation with international agencies,” Guevarra said.

“We want to closely coordinate with the food safety regulatory agencies, regularly consult with stakeholders, and continuously review and update the roadmaps to include emerging issues and new topics related to food safety,” she added.

Related Tags

FOOD SAFETY Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.