Food Science Program

The Food Science Program at NMC-CREES, introduced in August 2021, is dedicated to enhancing food security and processing agricultural products, thereby fostering economic development and improving the quality of life in the CNMI community. The program, with goals to generate revenues in the county, will focus on studying plant properties, conducting food analysis, safety assessments, food processing, and research for formulating new products and value-added foods.

A key research aspect involves diversifying the uses of locally grown crops, such as breadfruit, sweet potato, taro, cassava, and yam flour, to enrich nutritional value in food, nutraceuticals, and utilize natural medicinal plants of the Pacific region. The bioactive compounds and nutraceuticals generated will have pharmaceutical value, applicable in treating diseases and for use in food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Stakeholders include CNMI residents, tourists, Guam, Hawaii, Micronesia, and other islands.

The program aims to train farmers, individuals with commercial interests in herbal medicine, and students on processing medicinal plants to extract toxic-free bioactive compounds and valuable food ingredients. This includes flavonoids, carotenoids, anthocyanins, with potential applications in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals. The outcomes of the program will include scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals and patents.