University of Turku Shares Food Science Expertise with Peru
A group of Peruvian university lecturers and students visited the University of Turku in August to learn about sensory evaluation research in the University's sensory laboratory. The visit was part of a joint project that aims to create a doctoral programme in food science and a centre of excellence for native food plants of the Andes in the National Agrarian University of La Molina in Peru.
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Gabriela Chire Fajardo from the University of La Molina and Saara Lundén from the University of Turku conducting sensory research in the sensory laboratory. The Peruvian guests used grains from the Andes to bake four different breads whose appearance, texture, flavour, smell and overall experience were then assessed by the research participants.
The Peruvian guests visited the University of Turku in August for a week-long course on the latest research methods in food sensory evaluation research. The course was arranged by the University of Turku's Functional Food Forum, which is one of the top international actors in the field.
– This visit is part of the joint project between the University of Turku and the National Agrarian University of La Molina. Our aim is to create a doctoral training system for food science in La Molina and a centre of excellence model to support the commercial sector, says Ritva Repo-Carrasco, a food science lecturer and researcher in the National Agrarian University of La Molina.
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The guests from the National Agrarian University of La Molina learned about food science research and teaching in August in PharmaCity. Ritva Repo-Carrasco and Patricia Glorio in the middle.
Patricia Glorio thinks that the collaboration between Finland and Peru has been very fruitful. She hopes that this collaboration in research and teaching will continue to deepen even further.
– Finland and Peru produce very different types of food in very different climates. This is why we don't have to compete with the same types of food, and we can benefit from the varied knowledge produced by research on very different types of food, emphasises Glorio.
The aim of the University of Turku's and the National Agrarian University of La Molina's Indigenous Food innovations from the Andes (IANA) project is to develop research knowledge in La Molina and promote the utilisation of native food plants of the Andes. The project is funded by the HEI-ICI programme of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland .
Text and photos: Liisa Reunanen
Translation: Sam Parwar