Food Science, Technology institute mooted

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Sri Lanka Food Processors' Association is initiating the Institute of Food Science and Technology Sri Lanka (IFSTSL) in a bid to widen the capacity of the food industry of the country.

Food processing sector which is vital to the country's agro based economy lack an institute to disseminate essential and timely information on latest developments in the sector and the IFSTSL will educate and empower the stakeholders for far reaching benefits, Sri Lanka Food Processors' Association President Rohantha De Fonseka told Daily News Business.

The Institute while being the apex body of the country's food industry will consist of diverse individuals from both academics and the industry. It will enable the industry to carry its voice to the international arena, he said.

The IFSTSL is expected to uplift the level of professionalism within the food processing sector and will benchmark and promote best practices beneficial to the national food processing industry.

"The institute will provide independent advice to the government on national policies and regulatory matters and serve consumer interest. It will be a forum for professionals to exchange ideas, conduct research and promote innovation," he said. We need to develop, nurture and promote the national image and the competitiveness of the food processing sector where there are over 300,000 direct employees while supporting over four million back stream producers.

The institute will enable collective effort to reach the next level of the food industry, De Fonseka said.

The emergence of the Northern and Eastern provinces to the mainstream of economy had a positive impact on the food industry and the economic development. The Institute will be a boost to the North and the East which possess an unmatched capacity for production, especially in the agricultural sector. "There will be high level of benefits that are passed down to the farmers, who are the indispensable and also most deserving segment of the processed food chain," he said.