Food Science and Technology
It covers development and improvement of food products in terms of nutritional value, sensory acceptability, packaging and shelf-life with economic returns from domestic and export markets; process feasibility studies; composition of foods including nutrients, microbial pathogens, chemical toxins, contaminants and other deleterious factors in foods; maintenance of a reference and testing laboratory for food analysis and analytical quality assurance systems; food and nutritional management in homes and institutions; development of food guides and tools for dietary management; and design and testing of food management systems/models.
Nutrition Science and Technology Includes:
Medical Nutrition Studies - to define the malnutrition and nutrition-related diseases and their physical and functional effects; develop and update methods of diagnosis and treatment for their prevention and control; establish and update the Philippine anthropometric clinical standards; and develop tools and methods for use in assessing nutritional status.
Nutrition Intervention and Policy Studies - to develop and evaluate models, systems, delivery schemes, strategies, and guidelines for nutrition intervention.
Nutritional Biochemical Studies - to establish normal nutrient levels and enzyme activities for Filipinos to derive nutrient requirements for maintenance, growth, pregnancy and lactation; and determine nutrient bioavailability and interrelationships of foods or food components in diets.
Nutritional Anthropology and Education Studies - to develop and evaluate nutrition education tools, channels and strategies to effect behavioral changes among various population groups.
Nutrition Information Dissemination and Technology Transfer
Deals with nutrition information dissemination activities, such as organization of press conferences, scientific sessions/seminars; establishment of media contacts through the Nutrition Communication Network (NUTRICOMNET); development and production of nutrition information education and communication materials; provision of services for information acquisition, packaging, documentation, and retrieval; establishment of information networking, linkages and resource-sharing through the Nutrition Information Network (NUTRINET); provision of reference/circulation/readers' services for in-house and outside users, as well as literature search on local and international databases; conduct of technology transfers activities such as lectures/demonstrations and exhibits.
