Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
In conjunction with World Food Day, and under the patronage of His Excellency Professor Dr. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Dawood, President of the University, the University, represented by the Community Service Unit at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, held a number of remote scientific lectures on Wednesday, 4/3/1442 AH, in cooperation with the college departments.
The lectures presented by the university on this occasion included: a lecture titled "Food Safety in the Application of the HACCP Program," presented by Dr. Shawkat Fathi, a faculty member at the college. He discussed the origin of the HACCP food safety system in the United States, then its spread across the Atlantic to Europe and other countries worldwide. It was described as an integrated control system that ensures food safety and freedom from hazards by analyzing potential risks in food during its preparation and processing stages, identifying critical control points, and working to monitor and control them to avoid the occurrence of these hazards.
As the lecturer pointed out, many governments and civil institutions have begun to implement this system to produce safe food for the consumer. In the Kingdom, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs focused on the "HACCP" system and issued technical bulletins and guides in preparation for its application. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority crowned the Ministry's efforts by issuing a circular on 3/24/2019, obliging food and water bottling factories to apply this system due to its significant impact on food safety.
Next, a lecture was held titled "Functional Poultry Foods and Human Health," presented by Dr. Tarek Obaid, a faculty member at the college. He emphasized the increasing interest in the role of functional foods in improving human health recently. Eggs are considered one of the most important and widespread functional foods, such as eggs fortified with Omega-3, organic selenium-rich eggs, and vitamin-rich eggs. In addition, there are eggs rich in more than one of the aforementioned elements, such as Columbus eggs. Currently, there are also poultry meats enriched with Omega-3, Vitamin E-rich poultry meats, and selenium-rich poultry meats.
The lecture revealed that these products play a vital role in protecting the human body from many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, and some inflammatory diseases. In addition to protecting humans from cancer and Alzheimer's, they are therefore recommended for the elderly and children.
The college held a lecture titled "Together Towards a Balanced Diet for Your Health," presented by Dr. Raghad Al-Humaid, a faculty member at the college. She explained the essential role of a balanced diet in maintaining a healthy body free from diseases. A balanced diet is defined as food that provides the human body with the various essential nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water, which the body needs to perform its functions correctly, build cells, tissues, and organs, prevent diseases, and raise community awareness about a balanced diet that should include diverse foods in appropriate portions from different food groups.
The lecture emphasized the necessity for food's caloric content to be suitable for the body based on a person's age, gender, and activity level to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, as each type of food contains one or more of these nutrients in varying amounts, and each type has specific functions in the human body.
In conclusion, a lecture was held titled "Organic Agriculture in Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Development: Vegetable Crops as Models," presented by Dr. Adel Hassan, a faculty member at the college. He explained that organic agriculture is an agricultural system that preserves and enhances natural resources by improving soil fertility and characteristics, as well as enhancing biodiversity and biological cycles. This preserves the environment from pollution, making it play an important role in meeting the nutritional needs of current generations and preserving the rights of future generations in achieving sustainable development.
The lecture addressed data and figures obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and practical research centers concerned with organic farming and the management of organic production in various countries around the world, highlighting the importance of organic farming and its role in achieving sustainable agricultural development. It pointed to the need for more studies in the field of organic production by introducing new agricultural systems that rely on the non-use of chemical substances and the rationalization of the use of traditional agricultural inputs through modern and sustainable scientific methods.
It is mentioned that October 16th of each year coincides with the founding date of the "Food and Agriculture Organization" in 1945. On this day, the Organization participates in events in more than 150 countries worldwide, through which it promotes awareness and action on a global scale to eradicate hunger, the need to ensure food security, and nutritious diets for all.
