Food Engineering in Ibero-America: the Contribution of the CYTED Program (1986–2005)

Between 1986 and 2005, the CYTED Sub-program on Food Preservation (CYTED-SFP) involved the collaboration of 11 Ibero-American countries, more than 60 multidisciplinary research groups and over 300 researchers. During this period, CYTED-SFP allowed the establishment of a thriving food engineering community through several international research projects and thematic cooperation networks. Scientifically, CYTED-SFP made important contributions in the areas of water management of foods and its practical applications as intermediate moisture foods, the preservation of foods by combined methods technologies, and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. CYTED-SFP played an important role in establishing food engineering as an academic sub-discipline in Latin America by the formation of advanced human capital (i.e., PhDs), training of technical personnel and students, initiation of academic programs in food engineering, and the generation of research articles, topical books, and educational material. Another legacy of the CYTED-SFP are the Congreso Iberoamericano de Ingeniería de Alimentos (CIBIA) congresses established in 1994, the last one (CIBIA-XI) celebrated recently in Valparaíso, Chile. CYTED-SFP is a unique example of international cooperation in the areas of food engineering and food technology.