1st Indo-French Conference on fragrances & flavours held at Guru Nanak College, Chennai
The landmark conference could be a launch pad for collaboration to bring together Indian and French know-how in cosmetics and perfumes
India’s immense natural biodiversity, combined with French technological know-how, could revolutionise the way humans use plant extracts for health and overall well-being.
This was one of the key outcomes of the First Indo-French Conference on Fragrances and Flavours, held at Guru Nanak College in Chennai today. Noted subject experts from France and India participated in the deliberations that were centred around the theme “Fragrance & Flavours: Advances, Applications & Industrial Ventures” (IFCFF2023).
In his Presidential address, General Secretary and Correspondent of GNC, Manjit Singh Nayar, said that he looked forward to several important and long-lasting as well as mutually beneficial takeaways from the inaugural conference, which was the outcome of a visit made by the senior officials of GNC to Europe and where such collaborative conferences and other joint actions were discussed.
“I hope that the conference marks the beginning of a relationship that not only helps the students and faculty of both the institutions, but actually goes on to be beneficial for the entire community,’’ he said.
Leading the French delegation at the conference was Marie-France Zumofen, Executive Director of ISIPCA, one of the world’s leading institution in the domain of fragrances and flavours and which has been working closely with the leading names of the French cosmectis and perfumery industry like Guerlain, Chanel or L’Oreal.
In her address, Zumofen outlined the close interaction that ISIPCA has with the industry and which provides a unique and ideal platform for students and business executives to learn about the latest developments in the domain of fragrances and flavours. She said that one of the key objectives of her visit to India now was to help develop a robust partnership between ISIPCA and Guru Nanak College with a view to offer the same facilities and experiences the students and faculty of GNC.
On the occasion of conference, an MoU was also signed between Guru Nanak Education Society & ISIPCA
In her address, Lydie Gumery, Academic Director of ISIPCA, said that during her visit to various labs on the GNC campus and interactions with the students and faculty had convinced her that there was a lot for both the institutions to do together.
“I have seen that just on your campus, here, you have such rich biodiversity which is ideal for our domain of plant extracts and I am impressed by the skills and knowledge of the faculty and the students. Together, we can learn a lot from each other,’’ Gumery told the packed audience at GNC auditorium.
An exhibition of various natural products developed by students of Guru Nanak College was also held on occasion of the visit by ISIPCA team
Sophie Lathuilliere, Head of International Office, ISIPCA took the awe-struck audience through the over 500-year-old history of perfumes and cosmetics industry of France and the close connection that ISIPCA has had with this industry right since its foundation. She also briefed the students about how they could upskill themselves by pursuing some of the courses offered by ISIPCA.
The aspect of India’s rich biodiversity, which is said to be one of the largest in the world, was also highlighted at length by Professor Mukesh Doble, Emeritus Professor of Biotechnology at IIT, Madras. Doble briefed the audience about how India’s immense natural resources were a storehouse of solutions to many of the health issues like rising microbial resistance for a number of diseases, notably tuberculosis.
He also explained how plants and their extracts offered hundreds of solutions, some of them well-known to Indian and Asian health experts for several centuries. He said that despite the challenges of shelf-life and instability of many plant extracts, there was a great potential for developing medicinal or well-being solutions from them. He added that the French technical prowess combined with Indian traditional know-how and natural resources were an ideal base for international cooperation in this domain.
On the occasion, an MoU was also signed between the Guru Nanak Education Society, which runs Guru Nanak College, along with numerous other initiatives and institutions and ISIPCA.
After the conference, the French team also visited an exhibition mounted by students of the Guru Nanak College who had put on display dozens of products developed from natural resources for various applications such as cosmetics, pesticides and other domestic and commercial use.
