ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

80th Annual Convention and International Conference On “EMERGING SUSTAINABLE PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS IN FATS, OILS, FOOD AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES” (ESPT-FOFA 2025) was organised by Oil Technologists’ Association of India, Eastern Zone in collaboration with Jadavpur University, Kolkata during 22^nd– 23^rd  November, 2025 at Swami Vivekananda Hall, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata, India.  There were 300 registered delegates attending the conference. The conference was inaugurated by Chief Guest Prof. Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Swami Suparnananda Maharaj, Hon’ble Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture Golpark, Kolkata was Guest of Honour for the program. Mr. B. P. Manchanda, President of OTAI, EZ in his opening address welcomed all dignitaries, distinguished speakers, delegates, senior members of OTAI and students to the conference focussed on palm oil. Dr Rajeev Churi, National President, OTAI stressed on pivotal role of OTAI in knowledge sharing and building strong relation with industry through OTAI conferences. Chief Guest, Prof. Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, in his inaugural address emphasised on the recent advancements of vegetable oil sectors with specific mention of green process technology, process sustainability and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for betterment of the vegetable oil sectors. He also mentioned about integration of nanotechnology and biotechnology to achieve sustainability in oil, food and allied industries. After the inauguration, OTAI Annual Merit Awards were announced and notable awards were, Dr JG Kane Memorial award to Dr, Sanjit Kanjilal, Senior Principal Scientist IICT Hyderabad, Dr. SD Thirumala Rao Memorial Award to Dr. Ram Chandra Reddy Jala and DR. Jayanti Adhikari Memorial Research to Dr. Kamal Kishore Pant. Inagural Session ended with Vote of Thanks proposed by Dr Ranjana Das, Convener of (ESPT-FOFA 2025).

There were five sessions during the two days deliberation. In First Session Dr J G Kane Memorial Award Lecture was delivered by Dr, Sanjit Kanjilal, Senior Principal Scientist, IICT Hyderabad.  Prof Ramkrishna Sen, Professor in Bioscience and Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, delivered Key Note Lecture. Dr. Chindi Vasudevappa,Former VC NIFTEM andSenior Director M/s Fare Labs (P) Ltd. And Prof Supratim Ghosh,College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Canada delivered invited lecture. In Second Session, two invited lectures were delivered by Dr. Pradip Ghosh Chaudhuri, Ex- Vice President, Manufacturing, Agro Tech Foods Ltd and ConAgra Foods Inc. USA and Mr. D.V. Chame, Founder and CEO at DVC Process Technologies, Pune Maharashtra, India. Two theme-based Technical Session for oral presentations and one theme-based Technical Session for poster presentation were also arranged. Session ended with invited lecture from Prof. Kaman Singh, ICUMSA Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Day 2, First Session stared with speeches from two distinguished speakers Prof. Kakali Bandyopadhyay and Prof. Rekha S. Singhal who spoke on Enhancing Oxidative Stability of Edible Oils Using Black Cumin Seed Oil and Co-extraction of byproduct(s) of food processing industry for sustainable production of bioactive oils and oleaginous formulations.  Second Session was Panel discussion on theme ‘Technology Development in Fats and Oils’. The Session was chaired by Prof. R.K. Trivedi and eminent Panellists were Dr. Kingshuk Kumar Mondal, Consultant in Oil and Specialty Fats Project and Product Development, Mumbai, Dr. Pradosh P. Chakrabarti, Chief Scientist, IICT Hyderabad, India, Mr. S. K. Roy, Former President, Oil Technologists’ Association of India, Dr. Syamal Adhikari, Emami Biotech Ltd., Ex- Scientific Advisor. A very thoughtful delivery on advancements of process technologies for fats , oils and allied industries have been received during the session.  

Third Session was on theme ‘Unveiling Palm Oil: Science, Society, Innovation, Sustainability and the Way Forward’ Sponsored by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC). Four Eminent Speakers presented a comprehensive session with focus on potential of Palm Oil and its diverse application profile. Mr. Roshan Martis, Regional Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Nepal, for Malaysian Palm Oil Council addressed the session  with an enlightening speech on  “Beyond the Kitchen: The Real Story of Malaysian Palm Oil”. Dr. Ranjana Das, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata showcased the multifaceted pathways of using palm stearin fraction for food and nutritional supplement formulations and technological advancement there in.  Dr. Sanjit Kanjilal, Sr. Principal Scientist, CSIR- IICT, Hyderabad, India presented an explanatory speech on “Nutritional & Structural Advantages of Oil Palm for the Preparation of Trans Free Product”. Dr. Vipra Sharma FARE LABS Pvt. Ltd. Gurgaon, Haryana, INDIA presented on “Detection and Quantification of Process Contaminants in Palm Oil”.  There were two best oral presentation and one best posters awards for student presentations. All the local organising committee members were felicitated by Mr. B.P. Manchanda. The conference ended with vote of thanks and National Anthem.