Stressing the importance of probiotics and functional food development in food security and healthier communities, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley C. Agrupis served as keynote speaker at the 2nd Probiotics and Functional Foods Asian Summit at MMSU Teatro Ilocandia on October 14-15.

Themed “From Farm to Lab Accelerated to Market (FLAM) 2.0: Strengthening the Science of Probiotics and Functional Foods for Health Innovation and Market Readiness,” the summit gathered researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers from across Asia to explore emerging technologies in probiotics and functional foods.

As then MMSU president, Dr. Agrupis recalled the inaugural summit held in December 2023 and reminded attendees that the science of probiotics is not confined to laboratories but lives within communities. She further urged them to go beyond laboratory work by developing high-nutrition food products to help address malnutrition among Filipino children.

She presented the Indigenous Food Plants (IFP)-Probiotics Research Program Framework, where she mentioned its two major phases: strengthening institutional capacities of higher education institutions in science, technology, and innovation, and developing an integrated production system for probiotic products derived from indigenous food plants.

“At the heart of this continuing effort is the IFP-Probiotics Program. Its goal is simple yet transformative: to advance probiotics and functional food development in the Philippines through a holistic, science-based and market-oriented approach,” she added.

The speakers for the two-day summit are Dr. Anil Kumar Anal from the Asian Institute of Technology, Dr. Pramuan Saithong from Kasetsart University, Dr. Pornchai Rojsitthisak and Dr. Nonthaneth Nalinratana from Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Tahrir Alenezi from Northern Border University, Dr. Endang Rahayu from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Dr. Rodney Perez from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and Dr. Richard Nixon Gomez, General Manager of Bauertek Farmaceutical Technologies.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rhian Jaymar Ramil, Program Leader of IFP-Probiotics Research, led the launch of IFP products and outputs, exhibiting probiotic formulations and functional food prototypes developed under the research program.

The event was organized through the collaboration of CHED, MMSU, and its co-implementers, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) and Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College (ISPSC), with their respective university presidents Dr. Jaime Manuel, Jr. and Dr. Mario Obrero in attendance.