PolyU announces the establishment of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition to nurture food specialists and promote innovative and sustainable development

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced the establishment of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition (FSN), which is Hong Kong’s first UGC-funded academic department specialising in Food Science and Nutrition. To celebrate its inauguration, an International Conference on Food and Human Health was held at PolyU, followed by a Grand Opening Ceremony last week (13-14 July).

More than 300 guests, including government officials, community leaders, industry partners, and staff attended the opening ceremony. Miss LAU Lee Kwan Vivian, Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology Bureau (Food Branch) of the HKSAR; Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU; Prof. Wing-tak WONG, Acting President of PolyU; Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU; Prof. Raymond WONG, Dean of Faculty of Science of PolyU; and Prof. CHEN Sheng, Head of Department of Food Science and Nutrition of PolyU, officiated the ceremony.

Since 21st century, the food supply has become a complex and specialised industrial process, with quality management being a key challenge throughout the entire food supply chain. In 2008, PolyU launched the self-financed BSc (Hons) in Food Safety and Technology to address the escalating concerns of food safety related to the outbreak of a number of large-scale food safety incidents.

Based on the key pillars of Food Safety, Food Technology, Human Nutrition, and Chinese Medicine, FSN is dedicated to providing professionally crafted trainings to nurture food specialists. FSN is also focused on addressing health-related issues and pursuing impactful research to promote innovative and sustainable development that benefits the world and mankind.

Miss Lau Lee Kwan said, “With the establishment of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, we expect that experts from relevant fields will come together to collaborate and share their knowledge and experience, making positive contributions to the development of innovative solutions to benefit society. We are also happy to see young professionals being groomed in the related fields.”

Dr Lam Tai-fai said, “The new Department of Food Science and Nutrition is well positioned to become a centre of excellence in research, education, and outreach in the areas of food and human health. I am confident that the Department will make significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in these areas for the betterment of society as a whole.”

Two fascinating food projects were presented during the Grand Opening Ceremony. The first was an award-winning project on the AkkMore™ formula, which has been further developed into a low-calorie ice cream by Dr Gail CHANG, Research Assistant Professor of FSN. The second project was on modernised and sustainable mariculture at a demonstration farm, specifically the cultivation of grouper, by Dr Kevin KWOK, Associate Head of FSN. The grouper was served as one of the dishes at the Ceremony dinner.

Prof. Raymond Wong said, “With the growing concern over food safety and sustainability, and nutrition-related health issues, our role has never been more important. Through the pursuit of excellence in holistic education, impactful research and knowledge transfer, we strive to contribute to the development of innovative solutions in Food Science and Nutrition for the betterment of our society.”

Prof. Chen Sheng said, “We believe that the challenges we face in this field are multifaceted and require an interdisciplinary approach to tackle. That’s why our Department brings together scientists, nutritionists, engineers, and social scientists so that people with expertise in different areas can complement each other and work towards the common goal of improving human health.”

FSN will work hand-in-hand with Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood) and Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation (RCMI) to provide interdisciplinary solutions for major societal challenges through advanced research and knowledge transfer, creating positive impacts to improve the health and well-being of mankind.