Department of Food Process Engineering, NIT Rourkela has organized an International Conference on Key Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Agri-food Chain (KETSAC) 2022 from December 9th to 11th

Department of Food Process Engineering, NIT Rourkela has organized an International Conference on Key Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Agri-food Chain (KETSAC) 2022 from December 9th to 11th, which is hosting more than 160 national and international participants and delegates. Today, being the first day of the conference, Dr. Subhankar Mohapatra (IAS RMC Commissioner) graced the inaugural ceremony as the Chief Guest. Shri Biswajeet Acharya (Head of projects and Compliance, Milk Mantra Dairy Pvt. Ltd, Bhubaneswar) was the Guest of Honour for the event. The inaugural function started with an address by Dr R.C. Pradhan, convenor of KETSAC 2022, who welcomed all national and international delegates, keynote speakers and participants to the NIT Rourkela campus and in the inauguration of KETSAC 2022. This was followed by an address by Dr P.P. Sutar, (Head, Department of Food Process Engineering) who highlighted the achievements of the department and the importance of sustainability in the food sector and said, “For sustainability circular economy has to be adapted in daily routine, which is possible through adaptation of the emerging technologies, and advanced strategic food processing techniques”. Dr Rohan Dhiman, Registrar, NIT Rourkela also addressed the gathering with appreciation and encouragement of the faculties and students of the department and highlighted the achievements in terms of the projects. He spoke on government and industrial funding acquired by the department members since the inception of the department in 2013.

Dr. Subhankar Mohapatra enthusiastically addressed the gathering and talked about the importance of the quality as well as the safety of food, which is the primary concern of every living being. He said, “Food consumption is associated with the satisfaction of all senses as food is generally experienced and is associated with the emotions and memories of the consumers”. He also introduced the idea of promotion of local brews which will generate income and can be internationally marketed with proper processing, increased shelf life and marketing”. Gracing the occasion, Guest of Honour, Shri Biswajeet Acharya (Head of projects and Compliance, Milk Mantra Dairy Pvt. Ltd, Bhubaneswar) enlightened about the strategies being employed in the dairy industry for boosting sustainability and said, “One of the challenges the dairy industry face today is to onboard the farmers for milk supply chain along with the logistics issues and maintaining customer trust on the product. The trust between dairy farmers and industry is the key to the future of the dairy industry and I think the future will surely take the help of blockchain technology to run this business to build transparency and a better business model”.

During this occasion, Prof. K Umamaheshwar Rao (Director NIT Rourkela) also shared his thought on food availability and usage. He said, “We are witnessing the abundance of the food and presence of malnutrition simultaneously. Around 30% of the country’s population is lacking sufficient nutritious food but at the same time, we see millions of tons of food waste daily. The responsibility of food scientists is to create healthy food along with solutions for the reduction of food waste but this will only happen when we as a son and daughters of mother earth realise the reality of the future and start changing our behaviour today. Let us be responsible and show gratitude towards each bite we are consuming.” Dr. Sabyasachi Mishra, Convenor KETSAC-2022 gave a vote of thanks and shared a concluding remark on worldwide scientific work towards the common goal of the provision of food for all. In addition to the thought-provoking scientific discussions by 20 keynote speakers, the conference is adorned by several stalls of Self Help Groups to promote the different food start-ups and local businesses. This exhibition cum sale was inaugurated by the Chief Guest of the occasion Shri Subhankar Mohapatra. Prof. R.C. Pradhan, Prof. Sabyasaschi Mishra and Prof. Madhuresh Dwivedi are organising this 3-day event as the convenors of the international conference.