UAF, food company sign agreement for research

FAISALABAD: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad and a food company of Islamabad on Tuesday signed an agreement to conduct research and development work for the development of fortified and value-added food products in order to address the issue of malnutrition.

The agreement was duly signed by UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ashraf and the company’s chairman Salman Saleem. National Institute of Food Sciences and Technology, UAF, Director General Dr Tahir Zahoor, UAF Director Research Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir, food company MD Abbas Khan and others also attended the meeting.

According to the agreement, the UAF would conduct research and development activities for the fortified and value added food product for the food company.

The UAF would assist in the establishment of analytical laboratory at the company as an essential component. The food company would provide internship programmes for the students of the UAF. The company would provide an opportunity to the UAF students’ trainings for the development of their own brands.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ashraf said that we had to put our focus on value addition in food that would also help address the issue of the malnutrition. He added that strong academia-industry linkage would pave a way to combat the different challenges facing by the country. He said that we had to develop the product of the international standards that would reduce our import bill and enhance the export bill.

Salman Saleem said that they were working on the provision of quality food based on the research work that would help fight the real issue of malnutrition. He added that there was a need to ensure the quality food for the people especially for malnourished population. He added that malnutrition especially in mother and children were posing a serious threat for the development of the country.