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On 9th Dec 09, the School of Applied Science had the pleasure of inviting industry partners from various fields of interest such as food manufacturers, food testing labs, research institutions, government institutions (SPRING, IE, EDB, AVA, HPB and etc.), herbal supplements industry, as well as nutritionists, dieticians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, to a half day seminar and exhibition at Republic Polytechnic (RP).
The theme of the 4th year of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Technology Series is “Let Food be your Medicine”. This year, the seminar serves as a platform to promote information sharing and networking in the food, traditional medicine and wellness industries. This event was sponsored by Agilent Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd, Perkin Elmer Singapore Pte Ltd, DKSH Technologies, Shimadzu (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Research Instruments Pte Ltd, Eu Yan Sang (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Pere Ocean.
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The half day event started off with a viewing of the exhibition, where industry partners and guests mingled with event sponsors and RP students and staff, while being treated with a variety of mouth watering dishes with a healthy twist, such as Seafood Aglio Olio with Wolfberries and Herbs, Stir fried Tiger Prawns with Chinese Almonds, Shitake Mushrooms Braised in Longan and Ginseng Roots Sauce with Broccoli, Honey Glazed Teriyaki Chicken Steak with Dried Orange Peel and Clover Honey, Lemongrass Infused Roselle Tea. The recipes were created by RP students from the Culinary Interest Group. Students doing their Final Year Projects also showcased their findings as well as products for a food tasting session.
In conjunction with this seminar, the School of Applied Science signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Polar Puffs and Cakes to establish a partnership in developing new products with the confectionary chain.
The seminar’s keynote address was delivered by Professor Elizabeth M. Williamson, Director of Practice, The School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, UK, and Chair of the British Pharmacopoeia Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on herbal medicines, who dissected what Traditional Asian Medicine is about, the common issues surrounding the integration of Western and Traditional Asian Medicine, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of such integration.
Ms Vasanthi Pillay (President, Ayurveda Association of Singapore (AAOS)) also shared her thoughts on the Science behind Ayurveda, and Dr Cheng Sim Kim (Principal, Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine ) on how Traditional Chinese Medicine can be used in food for therapy.
A panel discussion moderated by Professor Elizabeth M. Williamson, on whether food can be used as medicine, gave interesting insights shared by Mr Sean Wong (Policy and Codex Section, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority), Mr Sebastian Liew (Doctor of Naturopathy and Medical Herbalist), Mr Vincent Lim (Managing Director, Eu Yan Sang Singapore) and Ms Chu Swee Seng (Complementary Health Products Branch, Health Products Regulation Group, Health Sciences Authority).
The session ended off with a tour of the food analytical and processing labs in RP. Altogether, this event attracted close to 200 participants.
Comments from participants who attended the Seminar and Exhibition session:
“It is very informative and good forum for us to meet people from related
industries.”
“The event was very enlightening on alternative medicine and the medicinal
value of food.”
“The event was agreeable and informative at the same time. The variety of
speakers resulted in a good range of viewpoints on food-medicine related
issues.”
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