The forum was jointly held by the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS), the Federal Research Centre of Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food Safety, Russia (FRC), along with the Mengniu Danone Joint Venture.
This is the first time China and Russia have had an official exchange on nutrition issues, reaching consensus on the importance of consumer education of active probiotic dairy drinks.
Based on their academic interaction, CNS and FRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic cooperation. They said they share a common goal of jointly enhancing collaboration in the field of nutrition and health and boosting talent sourcing in dairy technology.
To achieve this, they will facilitate bilateral trade processes and dairy industry development by providing guidance and support for laws and regulations for seamless trade in dairy products in both countries.
Increased awareness
Yang Yuexin, CNS director, said, "Chinese people are having substandard daily intake of dairy, especially active probiotic drinks. To educate the public of the health benefits of active probiotic is very important."
There is a similar situation in Russia.
Svetlana Sheveleva, head of the Laboratory of Biosafety and Analysis of Nutrimicrobioman, the Federal Research Centre of Nutrition and Biotechnology, Doctor of Technical Sciences, said, "The dietary structure of Europe is mainly made up of meat, egg and dairy. Russians have dairy consumption meeting guiding criterion, but low awareness of the function of active probiotic drinks needs to be greatly improved."
Chinese company Mengniu has promoted international exchange and consumer education in the dairy industry by working with Danone in the field of fresh yogurt.
They said together they are looking to a future where Chinese consumers can enjoy quality products based on the principle of "same production line, same quality and same standard" in comparison with European and global counterparts.