You are here: Partners / Mexico - Description

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Programa Universitario de Alimentos

UNAM is the biggest University in Mexico, with its main campus located in Southern Mexico City, and eight more campi in several states of the country. UNAM system has more that 245,000 students registered, more than 70 different Bachelor Degrees and Graduate Studies programs. Over 65% of the scientific research that is made in the country comes from UNAM laboratories and research institutions.

Due to its size UNAM needs not only to perform liaisons, in many scientific fields, with other universities, public and private research institutions, at national and international levels, but also requires liaisons within its own institutions. University Programs are the instances in UNAM system able to perform such liaisons in well defined areas: Health, Environment, Materials, Energy, and Food Science (Programa Universitario de Alimentos, PUAL).

PUAL-UNAM was recently redirected, considering that UNAM’s best strength consists of the scientific research of international level that is created in its labs. Putting the results of this research to the service of Mexican medium and big size food industry and government institutions is one of the main goals of PUAL, as well as designing novel ways to support small and traditional Mexican industries from a scientific point of view. There are two main areas in PUAL: Food Biosafety and Safety as well as Food Quality, from a novel standpoint that considers the important relationship of food and health, and the traditional Mexican diet that comprises a great variety of vegetable foods containing an enormous arrange of natural compounds that still need to be well characterized, and that could rescue the value of the traditional Mexican diet often underestimated. PUAL-UNAM has already started research projects with the Mexican Ministries of Agriculture and Health, aimed to the application of molecular biology and other modern techniques to the detection of transgenic sequences in the Mexican maize products, and of pathogens in fresh produce for exports as well as in the Mexican food production chain, with the objective to transfer this knowledge and techniques to their government lab counterparts, in order to transfer not only technical knowledge, but also leave behind a close relationship between government institutions and UNAM.

Some of the Grad Studies Program closely associated with PUAL, such as the Biochemical Sciences Graduate Program has international levels, meaning that our students will receive one of the best scientific training possible in our laboratories. However PUAL-UNAM, just like other UNAM institutions, requires the consecution of hard currency funds as well as the creation of  new partnerships with international labs, in order to be able to fulfil its goals and to keep its high standards, within an economic national system that does no favour public funding for public institutions: the percentage of the Mexican Gross National Product invested in all sorts of research and development in the country is less that 0.8% .

Partnership with European institutions will not only enhance UNAM scientific research institutions, but also will enhance the education and exposure that our grad and undergrad students now have regarding Food Science.