THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology and other agencies, will conduct the first OURFood Conference in Cebu to promote safe food production.

About 1,000 stakeholders from the food industry are expected to join the conference on June 16-18 at Cebu Marriott Hotel.

OURFood, which stands for Optimizing and Up-scaling Roles in the Food Supply Chain, is a project headed by the CCCI. It also aims to give training and qualification programs for farmers and other individuals working in the food industry. Details about this project will be discussed during the conference.

"We want to make sure that our farmers, our food processors, those in trade are trained well and are practiced well, and are certified to be able to deliver the services needed for our food safety" said May Ybañez, CCCI executive director.

The conference will discuss various topics concerning the levels of food production including Good Agricultural Practices, food hygiene, and other safety standards.

Representatives from the Food and Drug Administration and International Rice Research Institute are among those who will handle the different sessions in the conference.

A public exhibition will also be held at Robinsons Galleria. It will feature about 30 food producers and their products, cooking demonstrations and tasting events.

Registration for the conference is ongoing. For more details, the CCCI at 232-1421. (Elizah Marie dela Rosa, CNU intern/With PR)