Preface Nepal Food Scientists and Technologists Association (NEFOSTA) has been providing forum for discussion and exchange the ideas and views on research fi ndings in the fi eld of food science and technology among food scientists, technologists, students, food industrialists and other concerned stakeholders since its establishments in 1984 AD. As one of the major activities of this association, NEFOSTA jointly organized the National Conference on Food Science and Technology [Food Conference-2012] in association with the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC), and Central Campus of Technology (CCT) on 10-11 August, 2012 (26-27 Shrawan, 2069) in Kathmandu. It made us very much proud that the participation in the conference was signifi cant in numbers as well as the presented key note papers, research papers and posters were also very thought provoking and meaningful. Taking into account the views, suggestions and recommendations presented in different papers and views raised during the concluding session, the conference has made fi nal resolutions in the form of suggestions and recommendations. Those resolutions have already been published in the form of a booklet in both English and Nepali language. As per our commitment, we have also produced visualization of the conference in the form of CDs and proceedings, which are available in the NEFOSTA Resource Centre (NRC) as historical documents. After a very long gap of holding this type of mega events in the history of NEFOSTA, we succeeded to organize this event with the support of different agencies, individuals and our members. Considering the history of past such events, the conference has decided to name this event as the 6th of its series and so the next conference will be held as the 7th national level conference naming as “7th National Conference on Food Science and Technology [Food Conference - …..]”. We are very much thankful to all supporting agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, PACT, STCL, DDC, NFC, NCFST, HICAST, GGIC, LVC, Diversy India, Nepalese Food Technologists – Nigeria, KL Dugar Group, Trishul Trade Link, CG Group, Sitaram Gokul Milks and other institutions and individuals, who kindly supported directly or indirectly for the success of the conference. And we do hope similar supports and cooperation in future too. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Krishna P. Rai, Member Secretary of the Conference, who successfully took over the task of organizing this mega event. Thanks also go to all Advisory Panel members, Organizing Committee members, Sub-Committee members, NEFOSTA Executive Committee, NEFOSTA members, NEFTSA, NEFOSTA Offi ce Assistant Miss Pratiksha Shrestha and all other concerned personnel and organizations, who helped in one or other way to succeed the conference. Likewise, I feel privileged to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Ganesh Dawadi and his Editorial Board Members for their painstaking efforts to publish this Proceeding within the very limited time frame. NEFOSTA welcomes creative suggestions from the readers of this proceeding so as to improve in the forthcoming editions. Mr. Uttam K. Bhattarai Chairperson, Organizing Committee Food Conference 2012 & President Nepal Food Scientists and Technologists Association (NEFOSTA) I Editorial It is our immense pleasure to bring out this proceedings of 6th National Conference on Food Science and Technology (Food Conference-2012) with the main theme of ‘Food Science and Technology for the Betterment of Society’ jointly organized by Nepal Food Scientists and Technologists Association (NEFOSTA), Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC), and Central Campus of Technology (CCT), which was held on 10-11 August, 2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Offi cially inaugurated by the Rt. Honorable Vice President, Mr. Parmanand Jha, the conference was able to gather more than 200 food professionals from different sectors viz. government, non-government, industry and academia. This proceeding contains speeches from the chief guest and other guests during the inaugural session, scientifi c papers, posters, keynotes as well as fi nal resolution of the conference. It contains a total of thirty seven scientifi c papers including four posters, six key notes and four invited lectures under seven different thematic areas. The papers cover a wide range of subjects such as food safety and quality, post harvest and food processing technology, food and nutrition security, nutraceuticals and functional foods, food biotechnology and microbiology, indigenous foods, environmental issues. The fi nal resolution includes ten main action points in different areas. As a result of tremendous support and cooperation from the members of Food Scientists and Technologists as well as other stakeholders such as food industries, academic institutions and UN agencies (WHO, UNICEF), the conference was a great success. The editorial board is grateful to the conference organizing committee for giving this opportunity of documentation of Food Conference-2012 and also thankful to all the fellows, who cooperated the Sub-Committee on Abstract and Proceedings directly or indirectly to bring this document in this form. I hope this publication will be a reference document for policy makers, researchers and other professionals who are involved in the advancement of Food Science and Technology in Nepal. Editorial Board Abstract and Proceeding Sub-committee Food Conference-2012 September 2012 II Inaugural Address by Rt. Hon. Vice President, Mr. Parmanand Jha Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great privilege and honour to be present and share my views in the National Conference on Food Science and Technology (Food Conference- 2012) with the theme of Food Science and Technology for the Betterment of Society. Hunger and malnutrition are still big problems of developing world. The situation in Nepal is also very precarious. Almost half of all under-fi ve children are malnourished. Promotion of nutritionally rich products, making the whole agriculture value chain more nutrition sensitive and improving the food consumption behavior of mothers and babies with special focus on “Golden Thousand Days of Life” we can make a difference. I hope this conference will fi nd some innovative and practical ways of orienting this sector for achieving the millennium development goal of reducing extreme hunger and malnutrition by half by the year 2015. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nepal’s joining of World Trade Organization has created tremendous opportunities to export agri-food products to the world market. At the same time, it has also posed some challenges and threats of entering low-quality food products from our trade partners. Our food industries are still struggling to keep pace with the international quality and safety standards and systems. This conference will be able to analyze the present day challenges faced by food industries and fi nd a way forward to improve the quality and competitiveness so as to compete in the international market. Likewise, the conference will be able to assess Nepal’s challenges and threats regarding consumer health and satisfaction by the infl ux of low quality and unsafe foods and come up with recommendations to strengthen our capacity in regulating the safety and quality of both imported and exported food products. In the past years, Nepal has achieved a great increase both in production and productivity of agricultural commodities. However, high post harvest losses prevail due to rodent, and insect infestation, and spoilage by mould and bacterial invasion resulting into food insecurity in some parts of the country and at certain time of the year. There must be improvements in the methods of handling, storage, processing and preservation. Food Science and Technology would contribute immensely by devising better means of processing and preservation in such a way as to reduce all forms of storage loss to a minimum level. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen There is no doubt; we have to use the modern technologies such as biotechnology to advance further the development of food science and technology in Nepal. But at the same time, we should also pay attention to our traditional knowledge in processing and preservation of food products. With some research, we can easily package these technologies and products and present them to III the global consumers. This would certainly create an opportunity to improve the livelihood of Nepalese living in rural areas. There are increasing evidences that certain foods have properties to prevent or cure some chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart diseases etc. Thanks to the advancement of technology, there are several food products and extracts from foods in the market with their special function of curing diseases. It’s time for us to explore Nepalese foods/ plants with such properties so that we can package our products for world consumers. At the same time, we should upgrade food control system to regulate these products in order to protect our consumers from fraudulent products/ claims. I am confi dent that the deliberations in this conference will come forward with innovative ideas for the industrialization of agriculture through appropriate and farmer friendly processing technologies and also for the improvement of quality and safety of food products to guarantee good health and nutritional status of all Nepalese. I wish this conference a great success. Thank you. IV Address by Hon. Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr. Keshav Man Shakya Rt. Hon. Vice President Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great privilege and honour to be present and share my views in the National Conference on Food Science and Technology (Food Conference- 2012) with the theme of Food Science and Technology for the Betterment of Society. Development of Science and Technology is very much essential not only for the economic growth of a nation but also for the development of a modern society which is free from any dogma and which believes in a scientifi c logic system. Being an agricultural based economy, we need to advance technologies for the modernization and industrialization of agriculture sector.