Food additives play an essential role in today’s food processing and product development. This is a result of the complex demand for convenience and better taste and the increasing demand for nutritional values and functionality of foods.   

However, the illegal sale and use of banned substances in food continue to pose a challenge to government agencies in-charge of food safety management. Striking a balance between appropriate use of food additives in processed foods and ensuring food quality and safety is a problem that continuously confronts food processing businesses. This is especially true in developing countries like Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam (CLMV), where food safety has become a primary concern. Enhancing the general understanding of the functional use of food additives and the health-related effects of misuse is important in product development, sale, and consumption of food.

To this end, Mekong Institute is organizing a Regional Training Program on the “Safe Use of Additives in the Food Industry” from October 25 to 29, 2021. The training course will cover a wide range of topics, including a general understanding of food safety concepts, the functional classification of food additives, regulations and labeling requirements, and restrictions on applying additives in food. A session on future trends in food additive use in food processing and product development is an interesting feature of the training course.

Twenty-three participants from both the public and the private sectors in CLMV are attending the course.

The training program is one of the new topics being offered in 2021 under the Mekong Institute Food Safety Project-PROSAFE. Supported by the New Zealand Aid Programme, the PROSAFE project aims to strengthen food safety capabilities of agri-food supply chain stakeholders in CLMV.