DAVAO CITY—Members of the country’s newest professional regulatory board on food technology have completed the major guidelines and codes of conduct among professionals in this field, as well as the regulatory framework for higher educational institutions offering courses in food technology.
In less than a year that the board was constituted in July last year, the board has crafted at least seven major actions, mostly the codes of conduct and road map for food technology professionalism.
These were: Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 11052, the law that created the board, and which was initiated by Prof. Ma. Leonora dL. Francisco, president of the Philippine Association of Food Technologists (PAFT) Inc.; adoption of the Professional Regulatory Board of Food Technology seal; Code of Professional Conduct; Guidelines for Registration Without Examination;
Professional Competitiveness Roadmap for food technology which focuses on six key result areas to develop professional food technologists (licensure Examination, CPD/CPSP, internationalization, registration without examination, inspection and monitoring, and research and development);
Constitution and bylaws of the PAFT as an accredited integrated professional organization and schedule of inspection and monitoring of Higher Education Institutions this year.
The board was constituted only last year, three years after the law for its creation was enacted. The chairman, Dr. Anthony C. Sales, the Davao regional director of the Department of Science and Technology, was appointed only in July last year. He was joined on the same month by the board’s first member Remedios Baclig.
Its first set of major actions would include this year’s calendar of inspection and monitoring of educational establishments offering food technology courses, developing test questions for licensure examination and developing continuing professional education program for food technologists.
The board would also pursue an initiative to link the industry and academe in the area of instruction, research, and internship of students in board programs specific on food technology. It said the program would provide facilities and equipment for these activities and for students enrolled in programs requiring licensure examinations.
“The private sector will also be involved and will be encouraged to donate equipment, facilities, supplies and materials to HEIs for the purpose of enhancing instruction, research and development, as well as internship on-campus,” it added.
Meanwhile, the DOST here said a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology (BSFT) is already existing as a four-year degree program “that focuses on the scientific preparation, processing, and distribution of food, involving techniques and processes that are used to transform raw materials into food.”
The DOST said students would be trained to perform and conduct food analysis, comply with food laws and regulations in manufacturing and distribution of food, develop new food products and improve existing ones, and implement quality management systems.
It said the program is being offered in many higher education institutions in the country to produce graduates “who can serve as human resources and experts in the food industry and other sectors requiring the skills and knowledge of a food technology graduate.”
“However, many food technologists often fall short in practicing their profession without a license for the following reasons: they could not affix their signature on significant technical documents that would signify their authority to approve/disapprove a technical process; and most worthwhile job assignments while employed were given to licensed technical personnel,” it added. 30
