Head of the Unit:
Dr. biol. Jānis Mičulis
E-mail:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
; Phone: +371 26216336
The Latvian companies of agriculture and food sector, after Latvia joined the Europan Union, need to ensure and improve their level of quality in response to the ever-increasing consumer demand, competition, strict requirements of environment and animal welfare, continuing rise of prices of energy and other resources. At the same time it is necessary to reduce production costs and increase production efficiency. Such conditions create demand for scientific research that would provide advice and recommendations both for companies and state officials, and also for professional organisations for ensuring and improving quality.
The following members of the LAAFS actively engaged in the research work aimed at solution of the stated problems: prof. A. Jemeļjanovs, prof. E. Birģele, prof. P. Rivža, prof. D. Kārkliņa, prof. I. Ciproviča, et. al.
It is clear that high quality, safe and healthy raw foodstuffs of animal origin can only be produced from healthy animals, therefore the successful co-operation of the members of LAAFS and scientists from LAU SI „Sigra” and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of LAU in research of non-communicable animal illnesses must be mentioned.
The full members of LAAFS have promoted research in food science in several directions related to development of new, healthier products and their technologies and study of food safety conditions. A completely new direction in food research was developed by the honorary doctor of LAAFS Professor Dr. hab. ing. sc. L. Dukaļska who has focused on issues of food packaging and storage, and as the result of her activity, using ERDF funding, a research laboratory dealing with problems of foodstuff packaging was founded. The results have been reported at international congresses and conferences in Korea, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal, France, Canada, and other countries, as well as in conferences in Latvia and the II and III World Congress of Latvian Scientists. The issue of education of scientific staff with the highest scientific qualifications in the branch of food research has become one of the most important over the last decade, and also members of the Unit took part in searching the solutions. Under their supervision more than 10 doctoral theses dealing with important aspects of food research have been defended within the recent decade. The members of Unit actively collaborate with producers and professional associations such as Latvia Central Union of Dairy Farmers, Bakers Association, Packaging Association of Latvia, The Latvian Federation of Food Enterprises, taking part in improving the qualification of food production industry workers and becoming involved in solution of important problems of production. The Unit of Food and Veterinary Medicine Science of LAAFS is one of the largest units of the LAAFS and it is still growing admitting 1-2 new members annually. There are grounds to believe that the importance of the Unit’s work will continue to grow, as the interest of society concerning increase of high quality, safe and healthy food in the total consumption is still growing.