IFST held the Birch Sap Functional Food Innovation Competition. On January 20, the "Birch Essence, New Vitality" Birch Sap Functional Food Innovation Competition, co-hosted by the Food Nutrition and Functional Food Innovation Team of IFST and Sunwu County, Heihe Municipal, Heilongjiang Province, came to a successful conclusion. A total of 21 innovative entries were collected, covering functional beverages, snack foods, health foods and other categories. After comprehensive evaluation, 1 entry won the first prize, 3 entries won the second prize, and 5 entries won the third prize.

IFST and Yinhe Dairy Co., Ltd. Jointly Held a Project Launching Ceremony and the Inauguration of a Joint Research Center. On January 12, IFST and Qiqihar Yinhe Dairy Co., Ltd. jointly held the launching ceremony for the project Research on Milk Fat Deep Processing Technology and New Product Development, and inaugurated the Joint Research Center for Milk Fat Science and Technology established by both parties. At the meeting, a report on the research plan of the project was delivered. This cooperation marks the transition from project-based collaboration to long-term strategic synergy between the two sides.

Practical Storage, Transportation and Preservation Technologies for 100 Characteristic Vegetables Published. Recently, the book Practical Storage, Transportation and Preservation Technologies for 100 Characteristic Vegetables, chief-edited by Prof. Lin Qiong, Prof. Duan Yuquan from IFST and Prof. Chen Xiangning from Beijing University of Agriculture, has been officially published by China Agricultural Science and Technology Press. This book systematically summarizes practical technological achievements on storage, transportation and preservation of nearly 100 kinds of characteristic vegetables, written by practicing experts who have long been engaged in research on vegetable storage and preservation in China.

IFST Signs Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Qingdao Agricultural University. On March 4, IFST signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Qingdao Agricultural University. Zhao Jinshan, President of Qingdao Agricultural University, Zhang Yumei and Sun Qingjie, Vice Presidents of Qingdao Agricultural University, Liu Rongrong, Director General of IFST, and Fan Bei and Zhuang Yan, Deputy Director of IFST, attended the signing ceremony. The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on the progress of preliminary cooperation, and reached consensus on further strengthening the construction of emerging disciplines, promoting the cross-integration of research teams, and enhancing practical cooperation in areas including joint talent training, co-construction and sharing of innovation platforms, joint research on key technologies, and collaborative empowerment for social services. Zhang Yumei and Fan Bei signed the cooperation agreement on behalf of the two sides respectively.

The 2026 Annual Meeting of the AgriLoop Project held in France. From March 10 to 12, the annual meeting of AgriLoop project took place in Montpellier, France. Nearly 50 experts from both China and the EU attended the meeting, and the leaders of each task reported on the progress of the second phase of the project. The EU expert team highly recognized the overall progress of the project and particularly commended its achievements in communication and outreach. A youth scholar exchange session was held during the meeting to promote talent interaction between China and the EU. After the meeting, the delegation visited partner institutions including the University of Vienna in Austria to expand the international cooperation network. This meeting consolidated consensus on China-EU cooperation, clarified priorities for achievement transformation, and injected new impetus into the project’s final acceptance and innovation in the high-value utilization of agricultural waste.

A Delegation from Córdoba Province, Argentina Visiting IFST. On March 20, a delegation led by Ms. Verónica Navarro Alegre, Legislator for the province of Córdoba, Argentina, and Mr. Eduardo Acastello, Mayor of Villa María, visited IFST. At the meeting, the two sides conducted in-depth discussions on dairy production and processing, new technology research and development, industrial collaboration and other related topics, and signed a Letter of Intent for Cooperation. This meeting further deepened the practical cooperation between IFST and institutes in Argentina in the field of food science and technology, and broadened the path for cross-border collaborative development of the dairy industry between the two sides. Deng Hongliang, researchers from the Innovation Team of Dairy Processing and Quality Regulation, and representatives from Mengniu Group, our cooperative enterprise, attended the meeting.

Representatives from CIP Visiting IFST. On March 20, Simon Heck, Director General of the International Potato Center (CIP), Deputy Directors Hugo Campos and Xie Jianming visited IFST for exchanges. They toured the laboratories of the Innovation Team for Tuber Food Science and Technology and the Innovation Team for Potato Processing and Quality Regulation, and had exchanges and discussions on the development and utilization of tuber resources such as potato and sweet potato, as well as related industrial development.

Representatives of China-FAO South-South Cooperation SIDS Project Visiting IFST. On March 28, representatives of the special project Enhancing Science, Technology and Innovation Capacities to Accelerate Food Systems Transformation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), implemented by Center of International Cooperation Service, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, visited IFST for study and exchanges. The delegation visited the laboratories of the Grain Processing and Quality Regulation Team, the Embodied Intelligent Detection Joint Laboratory, and the Innovation Team for Meat Science and Nutritional Engineering. The training program was attended by nearly 30 representatives from research institutions and government authorities of 10 countries and international organizations including the Bahamas, Grenada, Cape Verde, as well as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).