The Philippine Association of Food Technologists (PAFT) is hoping to continue collaborating with various government agencies on their future projects, particularly on food safety and technology advocacy.

“We hope that in the future we can continuously partner with them with their projects, specifically those involving food safety and food technology advocacies,” Shella Ef-Em Corpuz-Montinola, a member of the PAFT Board of Directors, said during the DOH’s #MediaSolusyon Kapihan with Media Partners about Food Safety Awareness Week.

Montinola sa PAFT recognizes the immense contribution of key regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture (DA), as well as local government units, in ensuring food safety and quality.

“We always refer to the Food Safety Act and always on the food sanitation nang sa gayon ang amin pong ginagawa, lahat po ay nakatugon sa mga patakaran na ginawa ng DOH at ng DA (Therefore, in what we do, everything complies with the guidelines set by the DOH and the DA),” she pointed out.

She cited that PAFT, a voluntary and non-profit association, is committed to promoting food science and technology as a profession.

She added that professional food technologists uphold food safety laws, encompassing various aspects, such as food production, trade, handling, and the regulation of safety labeling.

Meanwhile, Montinola explained that the agriculture and fisheries sectors, the food industry, including food manufacturing, distribution, and retail, the food service sector, such as restaurants, caterers, and street vendors, and consumers are all stakeholders in the food supply chain.

"They are the reason food technologists exist, applying science and related fields to convert raw materials into safe, stable, and palatable nutritious food,” she said.

Food tech’s key role

Montinola underscored the pivotal role of food technologists in ensuring food safety and quality in the food supply chain.

She emphasized that the work of food scientists involves rigorous research and innovative technologies to ensure that consumers have access to nutritious and palatable food.

"We also do consultations with our stakeholders in order to make sure that we always identify hazards, mitigate the risk, and ensure the overall safety of our supply," Montinola said.

She also said that food technology plays a vital role in addressing complex challenges within the food industry, working to provide consumers with high-quality and sustainable food products.

“Aside from that, it’s not enough na mayroon na tayong mga technologies na ina-adopt, kailangan continues, may monitoring, may system, at process in order to make sure na consistently applied (It's not enough that we already have adopted technologies; we need continuous monitoring, a system, and processes to ensure that they are consistently applied) all throughout the food supply chain until it reaches the plate of the consumers," Montinola added.

She described the food supply chain as a series of processes where food technologists apply scientific methods.

“From the manufacturing plants, from the farm to the fork, ibig sabihin from farm to fork, kung saan siya nanggaling down to the consumers, so lahat ‘yan, tinitignan at minomonitor ‘yung mga process, making sure na safe talaga sya (What this means is from the farm to the fork, where it comes from down to the consumers, all of that is being examined and monitored, ensuring that it is truly safe) as it transit, transportation, and distribution before it reaches consumers,” Montinola said. (Zekinah Elize Espina)