MULTINATIONAL PROJECT ON BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOODS

The purpose of this project is to promote the adaptation and development of new technologies with a view to opening up new opportunities to increase farm production and to master and disseminate techniques both at the rural level and in agro-industry; and to provide support to correct post-harvest losses and to improve the quantity and quality of the final products produced by the biotechnology and food industries.

The following regional activities were conducted: Latin American Biotechnology Congress; Seminar on Advances in Technologies for Processing and Aseptic Containerization of Foods; Technical Meeting to Form the Multinational Data System on Biotechnology and Foods; Workshop on the Production and Use of the Lactase Enzyme in the Food Industry; Training Workshop on Biotechnology for Improving Planting Materials; Seminar on Patents and Industrial Intellectual Property in the Biotechnology and Foods Sector; Workshop on Statistics and Exploratory Analysis of Data Applied to Biotechnologically-based Industries; Course on Statistical Techniques for Sensory Analysis, Consumer Research and Product Development; and the Latin American Course on Biotechnology, focusing on separation and purification procedures.

Progress has been made on developing a Multinational Biotechnology and Food Technology Data System for Latin America and the Caribbean by conducting workshops on the use of information technology and by developing a database on institutions, programs and researchers that can be accessed through INTERNET. The Project has helped train 834 professionals through short courses, masters degree programs and doctoral programs. Thanks to horizontal cooperation, there are now two technological packages available to the productive sector: one for biological control of plant blights and plagues and the other on the technologies of preserving tropical fruits. The participating institutions have published a total of 248 works, among them three books that can be used for teaching or that food businesses can consult. The project worked with the Central American Research Institute (ICAITI) to organize a workshop on scientific and technological aspects of ecological bioprocessing for cleaner production, which also receives support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This multinational project is also cooperating with the International Center for the Biological Control of Plagues and Pathogens to publish a journal on biocontrol. The project is working with the food program of Spain's CYTED-D to develop a project on tropical fruit conserving and processing.

The institutions participating in this multinational project conducted numerous activities within the framework of the project.

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