The 2016 Propak Vietnam was hosted successfully by HCM City this month. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) —  Propak Vietnam 2016, Vietnam and Indochina's premier trade event for food, drink and pharmaceutical processing and packaging industries, held earlier this month in HCM City, drew 7,288 trade visitors.

They were not only from FMCG and pharmaceutical establishments in Viet Nam, but also from companies elsewhere in Asia and from other regions like Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the US.

They included 208 buyer delegations from companies like Acecook Vietnam JSC, Ajinomoto Vietnam, NOSAFOOD JSC, Pham Nguyen Confectionery LTD, VIFON, Masan Consumer Corporation, Sapporo Vietnam, Vietnam Brewery LTD, New Viet Dairy, NH Foods Vietnam, SHISEIDO Vietnam, and others.

There were 292 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions showing off their products and solutions for the food, drink and pharmaceutical sectors.

"We have been to Vietnam for over the last 15 years and we think the economy here is growing very fast and full of potential," Duong Van, director of VMS Technical & Trade Co., Ltd said.

Two seminars were held during the three-day exhibition.

The "Food Safety, Processing and Packaging innovations" conference, jointly organised with the Việt Nam Association of Food Science and Technology, brought to light new developments surrounding the food processing and packaging industry, including food safety management systems, ionised water technologies and new trends in package design.

The conference was attended by Prof Luu Duan, Viet Nam's only ordained international fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, and Dr Lee Kim Lian, co-chair of Singapore's Food Safety Management System Technical Committee, among others.

VINATEST organised the "Trace chemicals monitoring, control and removal techniques in water used in food processing industry" seminar featuring notable industry speakers like Dr Nguyen Huu Thien, former general director of the Directorate for Standards and Prof Dr Chu Phạm Ngoc Son, chairman of the HCM City Chemical Association. — VNS