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| Overview |
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The U.S. food science and technology infrastructure meets increasing demand for safe, nutritious, convenient, and globally competitive food products. Food product development is driven by consumers for safety, health, convenience, and sensory issues. NIFA provides national leadership in food science and technology through collaboration and funding support with academe, industry, consumers, and other federal agencies.
An integral component to food science and technology is the process of value addition. "Value Addition to the Harvest" was one of the seven key challenges identified by Association for Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) in a 2001 document titled " A Science Roadmap for Agriculture."
Currently, post-farm-gate value addition in the United States accounts for 80 percent of the $830 billion annual food expenditure market. Moreover, food technologies receive greater emphasis internationally, making it a global issue. Therefore, adding value to various food commodities should be an integral part of overall strategies for expansion of the U.S. agricultural economy, improvement of human health and safety, and development of rural communities.
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