The Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology (Food Science) established the Center for Applied Food Safety and Processing with The School of Food Science Washington State University/University of Idaho.
It is co-located at both academic institutions and will provide technical support for the food industry through outreach activities, research, scholar exchange and collaborative teaching.
The center is being built upon collaborations that started in 1999 between Seoul National University and Washington State University.
Food industry support
Barbara Rasco, interim director at the School of Food Science, said it intends to bring more academic institutions on board.
“As much as possible the teaching will be delivered in a “train-the-trainer” format,” said Dr Barbara Rasco, interim director at the School of Food Science. “This will develop a sustainable capacity to continue training on a long term basis.”
The purpose is to conduct research, education and training, technology and information transfer, and economic development to benefit the food and agricultural sectors in the two countries and with trading partners.
Objectives include addressing global food safety and processing issues to ensure a safe and worldwide food supply and to enhance food security and sustainability through research and training.
It is not the first partnership between the US and Asia, with The University of California, Davis, and China’s Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University signing a memorandum of agreement for a facility in Shaanxi province last month.
The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) also signed a MOU around food safety earlier this year.
Focus of centre
It will focus on domestic and international stakeholders, predominantly in the private sector but also in academia and government.
The center plans to assist companies to validate and verify food manufacturing processes and it will offer conferences.
Dr Dong-Hyun Kang, professor and director for the department of food and animal biotechnology (Food Science) at Seoul National University, has experience coordinating scholar exchanges to Korea and training programs in food processing and product safety.
He plans to visit the School of Food Science in December 2014 to develop the 2015 programs for the Center for Applied Food Safety and Processing.