Applied Culinary Arts Lecturer Presents Research at 3rd International Conference of Food Research in Malaysia

Dr. (Cand.) Arum Widyastuti Perdani, S.T.P., M.Sc., a lecturer in Applied Culinary Art, participated in the 3rd International Conference of Food Research (3rd IFRC), hosted by Universitas Putra Malaysia (UPM) from August 6-8, 2024. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Food Science at the Faculty of Agricultural Technology (FTP), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). Her conference attendance was fully funded by FTP UGM and the BPI scholarship.The 3rd IFRC, centered around the theme “Sustainable Food Industry Through Science, Technology, and Innovation,” drew 200 participants from 20 countries, covering various aspects of food science. The event began on August 6, 2024, with registration and a pre-conference featuring three distinguished speakers: Prof. Dr. Nazimah Hamid, Dr. Carole Tonello-Samson, and Dr. Boo Huey Chern. The pre-conference took place at the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, UPM.On August 7, the main conference activities commenced at 09:00 with a welcoming speech by Prof. Dr. Tan Chin Ping, Chairman of the 3rd IFRC 2024, and opening remarks by Dato' Prof. Dr. Ahmad Farhan Mohd. Sadullah, Vice Chancellor of UPM. The day featured a keynote address by Prof. Dr. Nazimah Hamid from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, on "Valorisation of Food Processing Waste into Valuable Functional Ingredients."The day continued with several plenary sessions:

  • Plenary 1: "Hydrolyzed Collagen from Fish Skin: Process Development, Nutraceutical Properties, and Applications" by Prof. Dr. Soottawat Benjakul, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand.
  • Plenary 2: "Promoting Malaysia’s Tourism Through Food Tourism and Its Relationship to a Sustainable Food Industry Through Technology and Innovation" by Dato' Dr. Ammar Abd. Ghapar, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia.
  • Plenary 3: "Food Security: Supply, Demand, and Sustainability" by Prof. Emeritus Datuk Dr. Mad Nasir Shamsudin, UPM.

Concurrent sessions on August 7 included oral presentations in various rooms and poster presentations in the exhibition area. Topics covered included Food Analysis, Food Safety and Quality 1; Food Chemistry and Biochemistry; Food Processing and Engineering; Food Heritage; Food Analysis, Food Safety and Quality 2; Nutrition and Functional Food 1; Novel and Green Technologies 1; Food Security and Sustainability.On August 8, activities began at 08:30 with a plenary session, followed by the second round of concurrent sessions. The plenary sessions included:

  • Plenary 4: "Food Processing: From Traditional Concepts to Current Challenges, Prospects, and Recent Trends in Alternative Technologies" by Dr. Tatiana Koutchma, Guelph Food Research and Development Center, Canada.
  • Plenary 5: "Food Safety Research at National Centre for Food Safety" by Dr. P. Jeyaletchumi a/p S. Ponniah, National Centre of Food Safety, Ministry of Health Malaysia.
  • Plenary 6: "High Pressure Processing (HPP) for Sustainable and Innovative Food Products and Beverages" by Dr. Carole Tonello-Samson, Hiperbaric S.A., Spain.

Concurrent sessions on August 8 covered topics such as Food Processing and Engineering 2; Novel and Green Technologies 2; Nutrition and Functional Food 2; Food Operation Management and Consumer Science (FOMCS); Food Analysis, Food Safety and Quality 3; Food Biotechnology; Food Packaging and Shelf Life; and Food Service and Hospitality.Arum, passionate about food packaging research, delivered a presentation titled “Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Rambutan Peel Anthocyanins and Their Potential as Chemosensors for Intelligent Food Packaging.” She presented her oral paper on August 8 during the concurrent session on Food Packaging and Shelf Life. Arum hopes to inspire fellow lecturers and students to participate in international conferences to gain valuable experience and expand their professional networks.