CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru ,organised a webinar on “Innovations and advancements in food protection and grain storage” as part of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, commemorating 75 years of independence.
The webinar was themed on five different research fields from stored grain protection to insect infestation namely - grain storage management, pesticides and insect toxicology, hermetic storage technology, insect pest management” and fumigation technology.
Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru inaugurated the webinar. The head and staff members of Food Protectants and Infestation Control Department, CSIR-CFTRI were present.
Experts working in the field of integrated pest management from scientific and industrial domains delivered lectures. In her inaugural address, the CFTRI Director spoke about the country’s current situation with respect to post-harvest management of food systems and the necessity of immediate actions to be taken in the current scenario.
Prakash M. Halami, Head, FPIC Department, spoke about the current innovations and advancements taking place in the field of foodgrain protection such as grain ATMs, silo bags for grain storage and importance of hermetic storage technology. Invited lecture by Nachiket Kotwaliwale, Director, ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana, emphasised on minimising food loss and wastage using technological solutions for protection and storage.
S. Senthil Nathan, a professor from Tamil Nadu, also spoke. Praveen Gupta, Country Manager, GrainPro Ltd., spoke on the significance of hermetic technology as a sustainable solution to post-harvest problems.
Problems and prospects associated with stored product pest management in India were explained in detail by S. Subramanian, Principal Scientist, Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. S. Rajendran (retired scientist, CSIR-CFTRI), gave an insight into the role of fumigation technology in food protection. The webinar focused on the ongoing research and technological advancements the world is witnessing with respect to food protection and safety.
Opportunity
The webinar also provided an opportunity to the young Indian scientists and students working in scientific labs and institutions to interact with the experts who delivered lectures during the event.
The importance of food safety and security in context to the Indian population and methods of implementation were discussed. A total of 138 people took part in the webinar.
