The Employment and Rehabilitation Unit, in cooperation with the Department of Food Sciences, organized a scientific lecture titled “Fundamentals of Food Processing,” delivered by Prof. Dr. Iman Hamid Al-Anbari for students of the Department of Food Sciences.
The lecture highlighted the improvement of sensory quality characteristics (flavor, color, and texture), as well as the chemical, nutritional, and health-related properties of food products. It also emphasized extending product shelf life through preservation techniques such as refrigeration, freezing, and drying, in addition to various food processing methods including canning and jam production.
Furthermore, the lecture addressed the enhancement of food safety by reducing microbial load and eliminating spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms.
The recommendations stressed the importance of supporting the establishment and development of modern laboratories, encouraging partnerships between the public and private sectors, and promoting scientific research and development. This includes funding research projects in preservation and packaging technologies, strengthening the link between universities and food industries to implement research outcomes in practice, and improving infrastructure and transportation and distribution networks to reduce food losses.
The recommendations also included establishing advanced quality control laboratories equipped with the latest technologies, focusing on sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint across food supply chains, recycling food waste into value-added products, expanding the production of functional foods, and encouraging the development of food products enriched with vitamins and minerals, as well as incorporating probiotic and health-oriented foods into local production lines.
