November 21, 2018

IAOM 2018 Manila Philippines

by Vaughn Entwistle, Features Editor, Milling & Grain

The 9th annual International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) conference took place over the 30 September-2 October 2018 at the Manila Marriot hotel in Manila, Philippines. This is a comparatively small show, but was well attended by both millers and many of the big names in the milling industry.
 


Pre-conference workshop
Friday kicked things off with a pre-conference workshop facilitated by Dr Bhadriraju Subramanyam PhD, a professor who teaches at the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University in the United States. Dr Subramnyam (or “Dr Subi”, as he is affectionately known) heads an impressive research program that is focused on food and feed safety with an emphasis on the procedures necessary to assure proper sanitation. Dr Subi is an expert in this field and his workshop covered many aspects of the discipline, ranging from heat disinfection of mills, to the latest gases used for fumigation.
(Dr Subi was a fascinating and highly knowledgeable speaker, and we are planning to feature some technical articles authored by him in future issues of Milling & Grain.)

Keynote address

Ricardo Pinca, the Executive Director of the Philippines Association of Flour Millers provided the keynote address. Mr Pinca spoke about the origins and growth of the Philippine flour milling industry. Currently, the Philippine market is experiencing a healthy level of competition between its 21 local flourmills. Most recently, there has been an influx of imported flour, especially from Turkey. Challenges include the volatility and price of good quality wheat caused by a number of factors, including increasing fuel/freight charges, and the depreciation of the Philippine Peso versus the US dollar.

The conference program for the next two days was divided between Educational Sessions and What’s New sessions where companies introduced their latest products to hit the market place. Here are some of the highlights:

The use of microbial materials in flourmills
Simona Dijiuni of Ocrim discussed how Ocrim is employing anti-bacterial materials in many components used in its milling machinery. She noted that silver has been used since the time of the Romans because of its antimicrobial properties. To avoid the problem of ablation scratching off coatings, Ocrim uses incorporated antimicrobial solutions that remain in the product for its entire lifetime. These materials stop the replication of harmful organisms.


Read more HERE.
 

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.


For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

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