Historic
The Postgraduate Program in Food Science and Technology (PGCTA) was approved at the 94th Meeting of the Higher Scientific Technical Council of CAPES, on November 21-22, 2006 and the first class began in March 2007. This program which works in the Department of Domestic Sciences at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), was an effort to implement a master's course that did not yet exist in the State of Pernambuco, with a view to meeting the demand for professionals from the North and Northeast of Brazil.
In Pernambuco, graduate professionals who wanted to enter the Food Science and Technology area were forced to migrate to other regions of the country. This inconvenience was remedied with the implementation of the Program mentioned here at UFRPE, an institution that operates primarily in the area of Agrarian Sciences. It is noteworthy that the confirmation of this fact was demonstrated by the significant number of candidates enrolled in the two selections carried out by the Program (48 and 37 candidates/6 vacancies, respectively for the first (2007) and second (2008) class).
Another benefit to be considered was the concentration of research aimed at using the potential of the resources available in the region's ecosystem, which would not necessarily happen when the professional was forced to move to other regions, in order to continue his advanced professional development. The program aims to apply Food Science and Technology in resources available in the region, such as fruits of native plants, tropical fruits, carcinoculture, poultry, dairy products, among others, as well as the application of good manufacturing practices in agribusiness in order to ensure the production of safe food.
It should be noted the growing interest in the chemical properties of countless species, which are part of the region's enormous biodiversity, which may induce the cultivation of some native species, making their progressive genetic improvement necessary or recommended. It should be emphasized that the generation of new knowledge from this program (dissertations and scientific works published in journals) constitute a considerable contribution to regional development, acting strongly in the poles of irrigated fruit, carcinoculture and dairy. In addition, it will make it possible to maintain a close partnership relationship with the private sector, such as fruit exporters, agribusiness and food industries, and research institutions existing in the Northeast region.
CAPES Concept and Scholarships
The Program currently has Concept 3 from Capes and receives scholarships from CAPES and FACEPE (Foundation for the Support of Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco), in addition to foreign students who receive scholarships from their countries of origin or from international organizations .
Program Objectives
Train and qualify human resources at an advanced level for teaching, research and technical functions in specialized areas of Food Science and Technology, providing the necessary knowledge for the use of technical and scientific principles that result in safe food and contribute to improvement the quality of life of the population and regional development.
Within this context, the specific objectives of the program are aligned with thematic projects and local and regional needs, namely:
Evaluate the bioactive and functional properties of food and agro-industrial residues.
Evaluate the stability, bioavailability and quality of bioactive compounds and food products with a view to better use and maintenance of product quality.
Develop new products, processes and bioprocesses from local and/or regional raw materials.