February 14, 2012, by brzjch

Making sure food is good enough to eat

UK-Malaysia collaboration set to

tackle post-harvest losses

Producing enough food to feed the world’s growing population is becoming a major concern. But making sure the food we grow is safe, nutritious and good enough to eat is also fraught with difficulty.

A new Centre of Excellence for Post-harvest Biotechnology (CEPB) has opened in the School of Biosciences at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Led by Dr Asgar Ali – an expert in postharvest biology and technology – the centre is developing new technologies aimed at reducing food losses, improving overall quality and food safety. The aim is to increase profits for growers and marketers and make quality and nutritious food available to consumers.
 
Dr Ali says that in developing countries losses of between 10 to 100 per cent have been recorded. “Tropical countries like Malaysia have a particular problem because of the number of micro-organisms that exist due to humidity. Cutting postharvest losses could add a sizable quantity to the global food supply.”

With funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) UK, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (MOSTI) and private sector organisations in Malaysia, the CEPB is working with other universities across the world to find solutions to the problem of post-harvest waste. It is also running an accompanying MSc and PhD programme.

See video ‘Making sure the food we grow is good enough to eat’

Read more about this research on The University of Nottingham website.

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