On November 22, with the strong support of the Rural Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the eighth Jinshan Youth Forum on Food Physical Processing hosted by our university was successfully held. Thirty-five young experts in the field of food physical processing from 22 universities and scientific institutes came from 4 different countries (including the United States, Australia, Ireland, and China) gathered online to exchange the viewpoints of food technological innovation and food physical processing at home and abroad. The Youth Forum set up the keynote reports and three parallel sessions based on the research interests in different physical fields, such as ultrasound, ultra-high pressure, cold plasma, electric field, infrared, microwave, and radio-frequency. More than 500 scholars online and over 100 teaching staff and graduate students offline participated in the forum. Jing Wang, the deputy director of the Rural Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Wenyue Wang, the associate researcher of the Agricultural Technology Bureau, attended the forum online and made important speeches. The opening ceremony of the forum was presided over by Professor Ronghai He, the Assistant Dean of the Institute of Food Physical Processing.

In the speech of Wenyue Wang, she pointed out that the novel agricultural science and technology thrive with the coupling of multi-technologies, the intersection of multi-disciplinary, and the penetration of multi-field. Accordingly, the technological innovation of the food industry presents a phenomenon of cross amalgamation. The human-oriented development direction and the environment-friendly energy-saving have become the inevitable trend, which puts forward higher requirements for the green and efficient development of the food industry. As a green manufacturing technology, food physical processing introduces physical methods, such as sound, light, electricity, magnetism, and mechanical forces into the food industry, which has many unexpected effects on the enhancement of food processing efficiency and product qualities, and the reduction of the energy consumption and environmental pollution. Since 2014, the Rural Center has substantially supported the innovative communication of food physical processing, which displayed a far-reaching influence in the food industry. Under the long-term joint efforts, the Science and Technology Programs of China has decisively added the terms of “food physical processing”, providing a crucial opportunity to carry out the related scientific research nationwide. It is particularly noteworthy that the projects of young scientists have been fully implemented in the National R&D key projects of the 14^th Five-Year Plan. The supporting scope and intensity for young scientists have been further expanded, and more opportunities have been created for youth to host the national goal-oriented grand Science and Technology tasks of China. We hope all young talents in the field of food physical processing will take this forum as a valuable platform to condense the innovative elements and resources of the food physical processing, improving the food process efficiency, enhancing the food product quality, and promoting high-quality development of the food industry with scientific and technological innovation.

    In the speech of Professor Haile Ma, the Dean of the Institute of Food Physical Processing, he introduced the background of food physical processing in terms of academic ideas and previous forum keynotes. He also pointed out that food physical processing is an innovative product of the cross amalgamation between food science and physics, which has become a promising research field with great scientific connotation. Our university launched and hosted an annual conference to strengthen the scholarly communications in food physical processing since 2014, successively inviting 87 domestic and foreign experts to give keynote reports. The conference deeply discussed and reached a consensus on the supporting and leading role of food physical processing in scientific innovation, technological breakthrough, and industrial upgrading. Professor Haile Ma sincerely hopes that the young scholars who are full of vigor and vitality, like the morning sun, can engage in the field of food physical processing. We also believe that all young talents can enlighten and learn through this forum and strengthen and expand the basic theoretical research of food physical processing.

(Institute of Food Physical Processing)