Food Safety: Sharing Knowledge of Agro-Food Transformation and the Use of Solar Dryer in Myanmar

The project envisaged the realization of theoretical-practical training courses in the Ywangan region (Myanmar), carried out in the form of distance learning. The main objectives resulted: i) technological transfer of sustainable agro-food transformations; ii) sharing unit operations for process control; iii) sharing of simple procedures for food safety; iv) preparation of processed products; v) influence of climate on the solar drying process; vi) shelf life. Course participants were selected on the basis of previous knowledge, training/education, interest in the activities and availability of places. The project involved 5 villages, with as many solar dehydration systems, for a total of 24 students. The remote training courses were held by CREA experts and carried out on the Zoom platform, scheduled according to the learning needs and the development of the activities. The program related to the introduction of sustainable technologies to combat malnutrition, guarantee food security and promote tourism. The courses were aimed at young people to facilitate their entry into the labor market thanks to the prospect of new opportunities. The concepts of hygiene and food safety, food transformation, packaging, marketing and, above all, the basic concepts for using solar dehydration systems have been transmitted and implemented. Local factories supplied the solar dehydration systems workstations to the 5 villages. All the villages conducted successfully experimental tests producing dehydrated fruit and vegetables.