UAE- Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum opens Gulfood 2016 first and last add

DUBAI 21st February 2016 (WAM) -- XXX . suppliers. Gulfood 2016 also features the Halal World Food show-within-a-show and the globe's biggest annual Halal food sourcing trade event.

This year Halal World Food features over 800 Halal food suppliers - 15 per cent up on last year - vying for trade in a sector predicted to be worth US$ 2.537 trillion by 2019 according to the latest Global Islamic Economy Report.

"For the retail foodservice catering and hospitality industries Gulfood presents an incredible opportunity to source thousands of new products innovations in health and special diet and an even wider range of ethnic and specialty foods - we anticipate tremendous interest in Halal food products this year as Dubai advances its status as an Islamic economy hub" added Loh Mirmand.

Taking place over the first three days of the show Gulfood's revamped conference programme opened with today's F&B Business Forum at DWTC where experts discussed crucial issues shaping business performance within the region's expanding F&B sector.

The opening day's sessions ended with The Innovation Hub sponsored by British Airways and Avios where selected entrepreneurs pitched game-changing business ideas to an expert judging panel in a bid to walk away with start-up investment capital. The winning submission from five finalists - including a food safe disinfectant by CleanLAB an EcoBurner from Innovate General Trading a Culture Excellence Programme by TSI Quality Services Space Food by the Canadian University Dubai and increased sustainability in energy intensity packaging methods and product quality by The Nest Box Egg Company Ltd - is to be unveiled at the Gulfood Awards evening on Sunday 21February.

On Monday February 22nd the conference programme moves to the five-star Conrad Dubai hotel for the Gulfood Halal Forum supported by the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre and dedicated sessions devoted to food science and manufacturing before ending with sessions on global food security and public health in the food industry on February 23rd.

Gulfood will also host hundreds of show-floor culinary demonstrations at the annual Emirates Culinary Guild International Salon Culinaire - a showcase of the region's best culinary talent and expertise. One of Gulfood's undisputed draws for the regions' top professional chefs pastry chefs cooks and bakers this year's Salon sees more than 1300 professional chefs evaluated by a panel of 25 renowned experts mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) to judge culinary events across the globe.

As part of this year's Salon Culinaire three major USA trade bodies - the USA's Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) the Meat Export Federation and the Dairy Export Council - have teamed up for a 'Tastes of the USA' culinary demonstration led by Louisiana-born Joe Truex executive chef at Dubai Mall's gourmet eatery Pi. Dubai. Today's opening demo was attended by Alexis Taylor the Deputy Undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"The 'Taste of the USA' activity at Gulfood is a testament to the success of public-private partnerships between the USDA and U.S. agricultural trade associations such as the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the U.S. Meat Export Federation" said Taylor. "Activities like this show that high quality U.S. agricultural exports are available to dine on around the world."