Global Food Collaborative

We spoke with Dr. Balaban last month to set the stage on opportunities for collaboration.  Here are a few questions that asked that we hope help you to better connect and communicate with Dr. Balaban and his center.

CI:  So why Alaska? 

Dr. Balaban:  The simple answer is the great potential of Alaska.    

The expanded answer is that the mission of the University's Fish Tech Center is to add value and economic sustainability to Alaska.   The raw, natural resource inventory is so large.  This offers us the capacity to generate our own knowledge - not only for the benefit of Alaska, but hopefully for the entire world.   Alaska captured my sense of what could be and my few months here have further convinced me that we can support a broad base of economic initiatives.

Statistics show that 80% of seafood consumed in the US is imported.   Alaska produces a large portion of the remaining domestic market.  Over 50% of Alaska's exports are seafood.  Each of these drive Alaska to be a leader. The challenge is that Alaska gets 33% of that value - and improvements could be made to maximize the product potential with a positive impact on fishermen, producers and ultimately the consumers.

CI:  Would you mind giving us a little of your background?

Dr. Balaban:  I am a chemical engineer and early on "saw the light".  I  made a course correction and have dedicated my entire professional career to food science.   I have always been interested in seafood and have worked with it throughout my career.   It became clear that if someone wanted to make a positive impact on the seafood industry - the only location it could happen was in Alaska.   I wanted to make that difference and think I have the experience, education and work ethic to do so. 

CI:    Please tell us a bit about food science. 

Dr. Balaban:    The food industry is the largest industry in the world - dealing with the continuum of food - production, processing, transportation, prep, safety, nutrition, quality, regulations, policy -  all that encompasses food areas.  A food scientist is a trained scientist with a special discipline focus on all technical aspects of food, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption. Food scientists work in a myriad of different functions including research and development of new food products, design of processes to produce these foods, shelf-stable studies and even selections of packaging materials.   The roles that food scientists play are endless with a host of sub-categories that reach into academic, industrial, government and, of course, private sectors. I am a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, with about 20,000 members, where we get together to share information and resources on all of the aspects of food science. 

It is interesting that outside of the US, food scientists are quite revered due to the dependence of most economies and cultures on their food resources.  The understanding of how food science can support sustainable economies is somewhat inherent in these cultures.    While their is a trend toward that now in the US, I am interested in seeing us learn more about the social and economic possibilities within our own food resource base. 

CI:  You've been in Alaska for a short time, but do you have any observations to share yet?

Dr. Balaban:  First of all I have enjoyed every moment.    I'd like to see that the Fish Tech center and our talented staff serve as a catalyst in our specialty for the rest of Alaska.   In order to do so, the first step is for us to connect and communicate with those we can find partnerships and collaborative opportunities.    I know it is important to engage with Alaskans and it is a challenge - mostly due to the geography of distances, but I welcome and invite those interested to contact myself, our staff, go to our website or give us a call to introduce yourself.     I've rebuilt our website to provide what I hope is more and better information to begin these discussions.         Overall my impression of Alaska's yet untapped possibilities continues to grow each day.


CI:   How would you like to collaborate?    

Dr. Balaban:  We need to perform the function of fish tech as it was designed.   We can collaborate with other academic institutions and non-governmental agencies and industry.  Things work best with a network of cooperators so I would say this is pretty critical right now - building the network of cooperators.  We need to have an inventory of their skills and abilities so we can put a plan in motion and not duplicate, but leverage each others resources to maximize the opportunity we have in front of us.   

The Fish Tech Center has a professional staff of 5 with expertise in various specialties of food science.    (Some of you may have met Brian Himelbloom at the sustainability round-table at the Global Food Alaska show last year.)   While we have a depth of knowledge - we are here to serve Alaskans and must know well our constituents.       I encourage your engagement with our center while we do our best to engage with you.    

While I've attempted to provide you information at your fingertips about Fish Tech on our website, please let us know if it is helpful in navigating ways to access and work with us.     I am honored to be in Alaska, so let's get down to business.  
 

More about Dr. Balaban

University of Alaska Fairbanks - Fishery Industrial Technology Center

Dr. Murat Balaban, Director
Fishery Industrial Technology Center (FITC)
118 Trident Way
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Kodiak, Alaska 99615-7401
Telephone:     907-486-1500
Fax:     907-486-1540
E-mail:     fitc@sfos.uaf.edu