A mass spectrometry chapter in Singapore’s Food Story

PPC-SCIEX Food Science Seminar

Written by Qifeng Lin, Protein and Proteomics Centre, NUS | SEptember 2019

With the focus from the Singapore government turning to food security, the Protein and Proteomics Centre (PPC, National University of Singapore) was galvanised to co-organise a Food Science Seminar with SCIEX, a global leader in mass spectrometry technology. This event attracted about 60 participants of diverse expertise from industry and academia in food science research and applications.

The PPC-SCIEX Food Science Seminar was held at an opportune time, especially with Singapore’s goal to achieve 30% local production of our nutritional needs by 2030. In line with that, the Singapore Food Agency is leading the Singapore Food Story R&D programme to advance the capabilities and capacities of local agri-food industries. Mass spectrometry, therefore, can play a significant role in providing innovative solutions to the challenges in food research.

Participants at this seminar first heard from Qingsong LIN (Co-Director, PPC) about how proteomics technologies can be applied for different areas in food science. See Chung YIP (Field Application and Market Development Manager, SCIEX) then followed up by offering SCIEX’s ideas and solutions for “foodomics”.

Subsequently, invited speakers from the newly elevated Department of Food Science and Technology (FST, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore) took the floor to share the food research community’s perspective. Dan LI spoke about the challenges in food microbial analysis, while Mei Hui LIU discussed the potential she saw of proteomics in nutritional studies.

The half-day seminar ended with a networking lunch session for participants to exchange ideas and find collaborative opportunities in this exciting period of food science and research.

Pictured (L to R): the seminar audience, Ganesh Anand, Qingsong Lin, Thorsten Wohland, Dan Li, Mei Hui Liu, and See Chung Yip