The Standards Development Division (SDD) of the DA-BAFS held the first of its series of 2024 Sectoral Meetings with academe/research institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector organizations. This is in line with the DA-BAFS' efforts to strengthen collaboration and linkage with relevant stakeholders and validate relevance of prioritized standards. This Sectoral Meeting, particularly for Philippine National Standards (PNS) under the General Food Standards Category, was held on March 7, 2024, at the BAFS Conference Room, BAFS Building, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the various institutions and organizations, including the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman (College of Home Economics and the Natural Sciences Research Institute, UP Los Baños (Institute of Biological Sciences and Postharvest Horticulture Training and Research Center), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-Philippines (FAO PH), Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP), Philippine Association of Food Technologists (PAFT), Inc., Philippine Society for Microbiology (PSM), Inc., Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers, Inc. (PCFMI), Organic Certification Center of the Philippines, Inc. (OCCP)-Inspection and Certification Services Inc. (ICSI).
Director Karen Kristine A. Roscom
gave an overview of the mandates, key strategies, and programs of the DA-BAFS in alignment with the current goals of the DA. Meanwhile, the SDD presented its plans, activities, and programs (PAP) related to the development of general food standards for CY 2024-2028. The participants expressed their comments and recommendations on the work priorities for standards development in consideration of the current academic/research and industry needs, practices, and findings. ###