The Digital Feed Episode 8: Leveraging food science to ensure a supply of safe, nutritious, and sustainably sourced food
The world’s population is estimated to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050. Feeding it would require increase food production by anywhere between 59 to 98 percent. Achieving this sustainably, considering the planet’s limited natural resources and the increasingly adverse impacts of climate change, is a massive challenge for current agri-food systems.
Food is complex. Food science is hence inherently multi-disciplinary, involving the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition, and engineering. How can food science help ensure a supply of nutritious food to feed a growing world population? To find out, we spoke to Dr Hazel Khoo, Executive Director of Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) and Michael Patane, Head of Innovation for Human Nutrition & Health at DSM Asia Pacific.
Khoo said food science has helped solve some big problems in the past. A key example is powdered milk, which finds several uses — from manufacturing of infant formula to a common food aid item in humanitarian missions where transporting and storing milk might be infeasible. “Dehydrating milk using the modern spray drying process helps extend its shelf life, allowing it to be distributed easily”, she explained.
Khoo and Patane both emphasised the importance of ecosystem building — bringing together diverse scientific and technological capabilities as well as different stakeholders. “We have to look at food as an ecosystem rather than it’s individual parts. It requires a multi-disciplinary perspective to be able to deliver food that is safe, nutritious, and pleasurable to eat”, remarked Khoo.
Patane elaborated on how established companies can help startups in the agri-food space succeed. “Startups have fantastic dedication and inspiration to solve big problems. What they sometimes lack however is an understanding of the business scope, the ability to make financial projections and build business strategies,” he remarked. Patane said this is how DSM’s Bright Science Hub in Singapore aims to support innovators and startups — through collaborations with research institutions, venture capital firms, and regulatory agencies.
We discussed many other aspects of food science, from new technologies and innovations to mitigating their risks and career advice for aspiring food science professionals! Watch the full interview here. If you prefer to listen to an audio-only version of this episode, check out our podcast channel on Spotify. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive the latest updates from UNDP Global Centre, Singapore. Stay tuned for the next episode of The Digital Feed!
