The eighth edition of the Italian Research Day in the World in Hong Kong focused on the Italian scientific research in the field of food security and sustainability through a seminar organised by the Consulate General of Italy in collaboration with the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Research and Innovation Office. The Consul General, Carmelo Ficarra, recalled in his opening remarks the innovative contribution of Italian researchers in the world, emphasising the importance of cooperation between the Italian and local academic realities to foster the development of synergies, contacts and new insights in order to facilitate business relations, industrial partnerships and collaborations in the fields of science, research and innovation. Prof. Luigi Lucini, professor of agricultural chemistry at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and director of the course on ‘Food processing: innovation and tradition’ at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and Professor Gan Renyou, professor of food science at the PolyU Faculty of Science, spoke in front of an audience of students from various universities in Hong Kong. In his speech entitled ‘Untargeted chemical fingerprinting for food quality and authenticity’, Prof. Lucini addressed the issue of food traceability as a fundamental tool to ensure food safety and integrity, illustrating the role of metabolomics to determine the geographical origin and authenticity of raw materials. Prof. Gan’s speech focused instead on food sustainability, analysing the process of biofortification to strengthen the circular food value chain and calibrate the nutritional quality of an agricultural production. With the students as protagonists, the debate highlighted the centrality of the topics discussed during the seminar and their close connection to everyday life. The initiative also served to further strengthen university cooperation in this area, with the prospect of new exchanges in the coming academic year.
HONG KONG CELEBRA LA GIORNATA DELLA RICERCA ITALIANA NEL MONDO
