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.
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