The 6th edition of the Food Festival was hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on 16th February, 2024 at the Royal Parade Grounds. The theme for the festival this year was “Innovations and Technological Advancements in Traditional Foods: The Role of Academia and Industry. Several keys players from academia and the industry were in attendance to give talks on how they can contribute with respect to the theme. A diverse range of activities such as poetry and dance, traditional choreography exhibitions and an educative cooking competitions were displayed during the event.
The guest of honour for this festival was Dr.(Mrs.) Mavis Owureku- Asare, the Chief Executive Officer of Impact Food Hub. She gave a keynote address in which she stated that food reflects our culture, heritage and identity. She noted how traditional foods have historical significance and several countries have found means of putting their traditional foods on the global map and earn millions of the dollars through this process.
Notable examples of such foods included pizza by the Italians and noodles by the Chinese which is now being consumed at global level. The innovation in our traditional foods helps us adapt to modern tastes and lifestyles, preserve and celebrate our cultural heritage and present them to a fresh audience.
Dr.(Mrs.) Mavis Owureku-Asare encouraged Ghanaians to be more innovative with our traditional foods and how they can be pushed into a larger audience in the future. She talked about how technology can be harnessed to reduce food waste, create healthier food options and enhance crop yields. By doing this, global challenges such as food security, sustainability and health will be addressed since the world population is expected to reach nearly ten million by 2050.
She concluded by appreciating Ghanaian universities especially KNUST and research institutes for being stakeholders when it comes to new methods for food production and preservation and how key challenges in our food system can be solved through interdisciplinary connections.
A talk was given by the Ashanti Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority(FDA), Mr. John Laryea Odai-Tettey on how it is the responsibility of the FDA to ensure that food service establishments obey food laws and good hygiene practices put in place. He spoke further on how hygienic practices should be used by food businesses to ensure the safety and health of patrons and how patrons must not engage in practices that compromise the safety of consumers.
Odai-Tettey also gave insight into the licensing and registration of Cottage, Micro, Small and Medium Scale industry businesses as a collaborative effort of the FDA and National Board for Small Scale Industries to ensure that food is produced in a safe environment. He ended his talk stating that the goal of the FDA is to protect citizens rather than destroy businesses as perceived by many.
The representative of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Charles O. Marfo, the Provost of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences applauded the efforts put into the showcasing of local foods by the Food Festival organisers and how they have made such a celebration part of the events at the University. He further applauded the University Management and stakeholders for their contribution in promoting the activities that take place with respect to indigenous foods. Professor Marfo noted the importance of food to humans and encouraged consumers to always learn more with regards to preparation of local foods.
