DOST, DAR conducts Food Safety training

The Food Safety Team headed by Engr. Gopo

Food safety is everybody's business and the Eastern Visayas Food Safety Team is serious on its mandate of spreading awareness of ensuring fitness for consumption the food products produced even by micro-enterprises from rural areas. The Balaquid Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative, from Brgy. Balaquid, Cabucgayan, Biliran is the latest to receive the training on Food Safety and Good Manufacturing Practices conducted last May 29-30, 2013.

Department of Agrarian Reform Biliran Provincial office provided the funding for the two-day training under its Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Program III. The Department of Science and Technology Regional Office No. VIII through the Food Safety Team and the Biliran Provincial Science and Technology Center joined hands in organizing the activity.

The training held at Balaquid Women's Building was participated by twelve members of the cooperative who are producers of fruit and vegetable pickles. Engr. Rosella Gopo, Sr. Science Research Specialist and Provincial Science and Technology Director of Samar Provincial Science and Technology Center, headed the Food Safety team's training group. Engr. Isabelita M. Pamposa and Mr. Alfred Calibuso both Science Research Specialist II of DOST-8 was part of the team. Engr. Donnie Rey Duhig, SRS I, and Mr. Teddy Abenido, SRA of DOST Biliran assisted the trainers during the activities. Ms. Nancy Obligado, Provincial Marketing Assistance Officer and Development Facilitator of DARPO Biliran served as facilitator.

The participants were taught on different aspects of Food Safety including: hand washing techniques, Chemical, Allergens, and Physical Hazards, Cross contamination, Personal hygiene, and other topics related to good manufacturing practices. Hands-on activities were conducted to let the attendees experience first hand the topics discussed.

"Damo an amon mabaruan para mas malimpyo pa ang producto (We learned a lot to make our product more clean and safe)" was the general feedback of the participants.

BARBC is mostly composed of women who are family members of Agrarian Reform beneficiaries from the Agrarian Reform Community of Balaquid Cabucgayan. Their products are papaya pickles, mango pickles, and others. Their food processing venture is an added source of income. BARBC members are all farmers.

DOST supports NSU Research & Development efforts

Mr. Amosco & Mr Dignos during the critiquing

To boost the Naval State University's effort to improve its Research and Development capabilities, the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office No. VIII provided support by training NSU personnel on Statistical Procedures for Research and Development.

A training on Statistical Analysis, Data Interpretation, and Presentation was conducted by NSU in partnership with DOST-8 for the College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences in February 2013 and for the College of Engineering last April 25-26, 2013. Participants were taught on how to identify the best suited statistical analysis based on the design of their project. A matrix was provided to the researchers as easy reference.

Mr. Arnaldo T. Amosco, Jr., Provincial Science and Technology Director of Eastern Samar and the only qualified statistics expert of DOST-8 served as speaker during the series of trainings. DOST Biliran PSTD, Mr. Romeo L. Dignos assisted in the critiquing of the research proposals for the two separate trainings.

Research is one of the four-pronged mandates of state universities alongside instruction, production, and extension. However, many SUCs would admit they have limited capabilities as far as Research is concerned due to a lot of reasons. Among these is limited knowledge of researchers on experimental designs and data analysis and interpretation.

Statistical analysis in researches is a highly specialized knowledge that many researchers think its the sole responsibility of qualified statisticians. But good researchers agree that without knowledge of how the research is to be conducted and data analyzed good research is difficult to achieve.