The Food Technology Association (FTA), a student association in the Department of Food Processing Technology held a successful interface with industry on 8 March 2019. The interface brought together students and captains of the food and beverages industry for an Indaba under the theme 'Mordenisation of the Food Industry Through Quality and Legislation'.
The guest speakers at the seminar were Mr T.M. Mutsvairo,Chief Operations Manager at Dairibord Holdings, Ms Farai Chigumira, the Sustainability Manager at Schweppes Zimbabwe, Ms Sikhangele Marowa, Quality Manager at National Foods Snacks Division and Mr Joel Gombera the Senior Manager-Group Marketing CBZ.
Mr Temba Mutsvairo gave an overview on the state of the food industry in Zimbabwe, focusing on the dairy industry. He highlighted the increased participation of small scale farmers in primary milk production, the role of government in regulating the industry, the importance of food processing technologies and dairy processors in milk preservation, value addition, income generation and food security.
Ms Farai Chigumira reiterated the important role of food processing technology in the Beverage industry. She focused on the importance of Quality Management Systems, consistency of product quality, food safety and compliance to global quality standards as key in unlocking access of local food products to lucrative overseas markets and foreign currency generation.
Ms Sikhangele Marowa presented on the challenges faced in the food industry such as obsolete equipment, lack of vibrant research and development as well as new product development. She was impressed by the strengths of the HIT’S BTech Honours Degree programme in Food Processing Technology programme’s curriculum. Ms Marowa also discussed the promotion of cutting edge technologies as solutions to some of the challenges faced in the Food Processing Industry in Zimbabwe. She also called for close linkages between industry and academia to lift the industry to the next level and be poised to compete on the global scale.
In his address, Mr Joel Gombera presented on the need for students and all professionals to perfect their soft skills. He talked of the "DASH of life” which involves all those things that a person will be remembered for at their point of departure. He challenged the students to rise above average and to leave a legacy in their pursuit. "It's not the number of years in one's life that matter, but rather, the how much life was in those years lived,” he said.
According to the FTA President, Mandla Handirisi the workshop was a huge success and he promised to host more of such interfaces in promoting the profession of Food Technologists.
