The Innovation for the Sustainability of the Food Industry Symposium (SISIA 2025) began in Havana with discussions on the national food fortification strategy.
Havana, Cuba.- The symposium, themed “Sustainable Food Innovation,” is organized by the IIIA, a leading institution in innovation and development for Cuba's food industry. Among its achievements are foods for the elderly and pregnant women, fruit and vegetable juices for children, reduced-sugar products, and other technical, educational, and scientific services.
The Cuban government, which is implementing a National Food Fortification Strategy with the facilitation and support of the World Food Programme (WFP), prioritizes acquiring viable options for mass-consumption foods, strengthening the technological capabilities of national industrial production, and supporting a regulatory framework that provides legal backing for national food fortification, among other actions.
The event also discussed the improvement of diet quality and consumption practices among vulnerable groups through the use of fortified foods by social protection network institutions.
Another topic of the day was a fermented dairy dessert made from milk, sugar, modified starch, dairy culture, gelatin, salt, and soursop flavoring, designed for the nutrition of Cuban senior citizens and developed by researchers at the IIIA (Institute of Aquatic Research).
This product is recommended for elderly people with chewing difficulties or dysphagia (difficulty or inability to swallow).
They also presented the development of a chocolate-flavored confectionery syrup made with roasted cocoa husks, a product with the potential to replace imports in the food industry.
The SISIA 2025 symposium is dedicated to the centennial of the birth of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, next year, explained Jesus Rodríguez, director general of the IIIA and president of the organizing committee, at the opening ceremony.
The program for the event, which runs until Friday at the Melia Habana Hotel, includes conferences, panels, poster sessions, and workshops on current developments and innovations in food production.
Topics include food engineering and technology, food safety and quality, vulnerable population groups, new product development, and artificial intelligence for food science and technology.
CUBAN PRODUCT FOR PREGNANT WOMEN PRESENTED AT FOOD SYMPOSIUM
The development and evaluation of a product for pregnant women was among the highlights of the Innovation for Sustainability in the Food Industry Symposium (SISIA 2025), held in Havana.
Urselia Hernandez Lopez, Director of Science at the Institute of Research for the Food Industry (IIIA), explained during the presentation that the product is a syrup made from stabilized bovine blood, honey, and potassium sorbate, which meets the physical, chemical, microbiological, and sensory parameters for use by pregnant women.
A single tablespoon of this product, called Hemolin, provides 2.8 milligrams (mg) of iron, which corresponds to 10 percent of the recommended daily intake for pregnant women, noted Hernandez, leader of the research group comprised of Margarita Nunez, Yisel Leon, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Ivania Rodriguez, Sheila Alejandra Palacio, and Silvia Falco. (PL)