THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF food science and technology in the 21 It century will be take, up while ASEAN achievements in this field so far will be assessed during the 6th ASEAN Food Conference which will be held on 24-27 November 1997 at the Raffles City Convention Centre of Singapore.

The Conference will feature a series of presentations and discussions in plenary, scientific and poster sessions, informal gatherings, and an exhibition to highlight the various achievements of food science and technology in the region and the world.

To be taken up in the Conference are such topics as: harmonization of food laws; food safety and sanitation; food nutrition and health; advanced technologies; food microbiology, biotechnology and agrobiology; food industries and the environment; food marketing trends; food distribution system; food franchising; small and medium food enterprises; information technology and food industries and education, research and human resources management.

Supporting the Conference ill be a trade display/exhibition to provide an opportunity to view and discuss current available technology and for buyers to meet sellers. There ill also be technical visits to places of interest related to the food science and technology.

The ASEAN Food Conference was first mooted in 1979 at the conference on high protein foods organized by the Institutes and the Associations of Food Science and Technology in ASEAN, As the Conference could serve as a forum for discussion of food and technology issues and exchange of research findings by ASEAN and its dialogue partners, the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST) approved it as an ASEAN activity under the purview of the ASEAN COST Sub-Committee on Food Science and Technology. The conference ould be convened triennially by the relevant government agencies and the Institutes and the Associations of Food Science and Technology in ASEAN.

Since its inception, the ASEAN Food Conference has grown to be an important regional forum for food technologists, scientist, engineers and industry managers and executives, as well as government personnel and educators in the field of food science and technology. The five Conferences that have been held so far have promoted greater awareness in new and emerging technologies and developments from ASEAN as well as from ASEAN's dialogue partners. At the third Conference in 1 988 the Federation of Food Science and Technology in ASEAN (FIFSTA) was formally organized.