Srinagar, Jul 24: An assistant Professor at Department of Food Technology of Islamic University of Science &Technology (IUST) Awantipora, Dr Basharat Nabi Dar has been appointed as expert on the joint panel of WHO & FAO on the prevention and control microbiological hazards in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Dar will work as an expert member in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and WHO for JEMRA initially for a period of two years.
Dar while talking with news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that it is a matter of honour to be associated with an apex body and policy making body at global level.
“See this is the apex body and policy making body at a global level, so to be associated with it in any capacity is a matter of honor,” he said.
Dar is a graduate in agricultural sciences and did his MS and PhD in food technology. He started his professional career in 2012 as Assistant Professor of Food Technology at IUST, Awantipora, India. He has been a visiting scientist at the Institute of Food Science, Cornell University, USA under the CV Raman Fellowship of the University Grants Commission, India.
He is the recipient of the UGC research Award 2014-16 in the field of Agricultural sciences. He is the coordinator of the food testing laboratory sponsored by the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries, India. He is also associated with several research projects as a PI/Co-PI/member.
Recognition of his contributions has provided ample opportunities to collaborate, present talks, interact with professionals and has an active presence in public policy discourse through his position as a technical expert to the government.
His research group works on the valorization of food waste, byproducts, underutilized and minor fruits and vegetables. These studies involve the integration of the chemical and life sciences to understand the complexities of the food systems and provide solutions to challenges in their utilization as part of food security and safety. He has editorship of five books and has more than 90 publications in his field.
“My message to the students is work hard and be honest with your assignments, success will follow,” Dar said.
Pertinently, the Joint FAO/WHO expert meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) began in 2000 in response to requests from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and FAO and WHO Member Countries and the increasing need for risk based scientific advice on microbiological food safety issues.
JEMRA aims to develop and optimise the utility of Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) as a tool to inform actions and decisions aimed at improving food safety and to make it equally available to bother developing and developed countries.
Microbiological risk management is a dynamic process, using data inputs and decision-making parameters that may change over time.
As microbiological food safety issues are brought to the attention of risk managers, there needs to be a systematic preliminary process that brings particular issues into focus and guides further action.
Using microbiological risk assessment in food safety risk management is an area that is still developing. For MRA to become a truly useful decision-support tool there is a need for risk managers to understand when and how it can be used—(KNO)
