Food exhibition in Abu Dhabi to focus on changing dietary habits
Three-day SIAL Middle East organised by emirate's food control authority expects 12,000 trade visitors
Abu Dhabi: About half of the food products being consumed today will be replaced by new ones in a few years, officials told a press conference in the capital yesterday.
"The foods you eat are always changing in a few years because of several factors, especially increasing health awareness," they said, citing several examples.
"About 70 per cent of the food products to be showcased in the SIAL Middle East, the largest food exhibition in the region, will be new — an example of this trend," they said.
Under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), the authority and Turret Media are conducting the second edition of SIAL Middle East.
Organic, fat-free and low-fat food are major examples of the changing trend of food products in recent years, Fadi Sa'ad, Group Exhibition Director, Turret Media, told Gulf News.
Healthier preferences
"About ten years ago if you talked about the importance of organic food nobody would care; now demand for organic food is growing worldwide," he said.
It is a similar story with fat-free foods.
"A few years ago, not many people cared about the food's fat content. But now, growing obesity and related health problems are prompting people to choose fat-free foods and fatty food products are gradually disappearing from the market," he said. "What is unchanged is the appetite for taste — people don't compromise on taste."
The three-day event starting from Monday will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. It is expected to attract more than 12,000 trade visitors with an exhibitor line-up of more than 500 food and equipment manufacturers and suppliers, in addition to national pavilions from Turkey, Argentina, Korea, China, Taiwan, Iran, France, Italy, Vietnam, Thailand, USA, Pakistan, Tunisia and the UAE, said Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, director of communication and community service at ADFCA.
Rashid Tarish Al Qubaisi, executive director of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said SIAL Middle East is an exceptional opportunity for international and regional food companies to promote their products in new markets.
