Asia Food & Beverage Summit, a successful Ringier event

RINGIER Trade Media Ltd, a leading B2B industrial information company and its partner in Thailand, Media Matter,  a pioneer in industrial-science media successfully conducted the Asia Food & Beverage Summit on 18-19 May 2015 at the Pullman Bangkok King Power in Thailand.

The conference gave over 50 participants from Asia the chance to meet key experts in the food industry and to explore growth opportunities in Southeast Asia’s food & beverage market.

Initial feedback showed that most delegates found the topics stimulating and valuable, and the event itself fast-paced. But they had ample time to share and interact with the speakers in between the sessions.

With a diverse panel of experts from Taiwan, Indonesia, France, Thailand, China, India, and the Philippines, the two-day event aimed to shed light on issues with regard to the ASEAN Economic Community and the impact of economic integration especially to SMEs. It updated participants from around Asia with developments in food safety, quality, packaging and ingredients.


Dr Lee-Yan Sheen, the president of the Taiwan Association for Protection gave a thorough discussion of health foods and functional foods, including the different categories for safety assessment.

Danone Corporate Quality General Manager Yves Rey shared his ideas on how manufacturers can feed a growing world population with safe and affordable food, and emphasized that companies, governments and consumers share the responsibility to achieve this.

Miss Ze Ke and associate James Yao of Guangzhou Flower Flavours & Fragrances Co., Ltd highlighted the flavors that are currently in use in a variety of food and beverage products in Asia and Europe. At the event, conference delegates were able to taste some of their products first-hand as Miss Ze and Mr Yao offered them samples of yoghurt and cookies incorporating the company's novel flavor ingredients.

In his talk, Harjanto Hanawi, the Corporate Affairs director of PT Smart Tbk in Indonesia compared the ASEAN consumer and the global consumer of food and beverage. Mr Hanawi who is also the vice chairman of the Permanent Committee of Food Security in Indonesia, spoke on the topic as well.

From India, Market Development manager of Printpack Inc., Dr Ilias Ali explained the various packaging technologies available to help protect and extend the shelf life of food and beverage, including modified atmosphere packaging, form-fill-seal, hot-fill sterilization, retort, hot water sterilization, and Mw assisted thermal sterilization.

The National Food Institute, an influential agency for Thailand’s food & beverage, were represented by executive vice president, Orawan Kaewprakaisanngul, who shared a case study of the Phu Fa Development Center in Nan Province; and Ms Ornanong Mahakkapong, a senior researcher who discussed import and export regulations in Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Also from Thailand, Pravate Tuitemwongse, president of AOAC International Thailand Section introduced the role of this agency and spoke on key regulations for food manufacturers.

The Philippines sent four experts to this summit. Dr Elaine Borazon, a professor and food safety management consultant in the Philippines, spoke on how to maintain quality in the supply chain and the role of sustainability. Also on quality, Dr Miflora Gatchalian, the CEO of Quality Partners Company Ltd, introduced the value of using sensory evaluation in food and beverage development.  Dr Ida Dalmacio, a professor from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, discussed the role of microbiology in the production of safe food. Also on food safety, chairman of Quality Partners Company Ltd, Dr Jose Gatchalian emphasized the importance of workplace cooperation and communication in fostering food safety practices.


The Asia Food & Beverage Summit was sponsored by Guangzhou Flower Flavours & Fragrances Co., Ltd, a leading flavors and fragrances company in China; KL Group Co., Ltd, expert in hygienic materials research and manufacture; Printpack, a family-owned packaging solutions provider with expertise in flexible packaging; DTS Food Industry Equipment Co., Ltd, a provider of sterilization equipment; and Kinn Shang Hoo Iron Works, which offers turnkey solutions, and with capability to design and manufacture to customer specifications.

For more information about the event and the topics discussed, go to http://www.ringierevents.com/10195/download.html