Cluster’s passport: rational use of modern technological equipment for production of wide array of food products with high nutrition value; new recipes of food products with predefned characteristics development; development of normative documentation for production of different food products; development of methods of food quality and food safety assessment.

Heads: Rector of Odesa National Academy of Food Technologies (ONAFT), Doctor of Technical Sciences, Corresponding Member of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, distinguished worker of science and technics of Ukraine Bogdan Yegorov, laureate of State award of Ukraine in the feld of science and technics of Ukraine; Doctor of Technical Sciences, Yakiv Verkhivker, Professor of ONAFT, Head of Technical Committee “StateNeedsStandards” (Juices and juice-containing products), member of “Codex Alimentarius” association.

Legal address: ONAFT, 112, Kanatna St., Odesa, 65039, Ukraine. Contact e-mail: ellaa@ukr.net.

Why ONAFT?

The scientifically based solutions to the problems of procession industry in the food sector allow to use raw food materials more rationally. First of all, this regards the usage of advanced technological solutions and newly developed recipes. That is why ONAFT is the best organization as regards the systemic solution of problems of food industry increasing productivity and competitiveness, development of strategies for food industry and implementation of research results in SME’s activities. Therefore ONAFT is the institution which perfectly suits the role of basis for cluster “Food technologies and food industry” creation and operation within NTP “Agro-Food”.

ONAFT is a leading science, research and education institution in issues regarding determining the ground of the state science and technology policy in the field of food production, rational use of agricultural raw materials and use of modern technological solutions, which not only increase food industry’s productivity but are also aimed at the environmental protection. Academy is one of the most authoritative science and education institution in the post-Soviet countries. ONAFT as a higher education institution starts its history in 1902 when according to the decree of Minister of Finance of Russia Count S. Vitte a millers school was established in Odesa. At that time, there were only two similar schools in the whole Europe: in Berlin and in Bucharest. Rapid increase in demand for grain storing and processing dictated the need in trained professionals, and Odesa region served as a ‘grain gate’ of the Russian Empire.

In 1922 Odesa specialized millers school was transformed into Technical secondary school of grainand flour, and in 1928 – into Polytechnik school of grain and flour technology. In 1929 Polythechnik school was again transformed into Odesa Institute of grain and flour technology, and in 1939 – to Odesa Insitute of Flour-Milling Industry and Grain Elevator Engineers. In 1953 the Institute gained the name “technological” and since 1970 it had received new name “M.V. Lomonosov Odesa Technological Institute of Food Industry”. In 1994 after state attestation the institute was reorganized into Odesa State Academy of Food Technologies.

Today ONAFT is a modern innovative science and education institution that trains highly professional specialists in 24 specialties and 17 specializations at 8 faculties and 37 departments, as well as in Odesa Technical College and Odesa Mechanics and Technics specialized school which are part of Academy’s structure. More than 10 thousand students study in the Academy, and circa 600 high-qualified teachers and 1,200 of personnel are responsible for the teaching process. Since the date of its establishment, the Academy has trained more than 60,000 graduates for grain-processing and food industries of CIS countries and near 1,500 foreign citizens from Africa, the Middle East and China. The teachers in the Academy are highly professional: 11.3% of them are professors, Doctors of Sciences and 54.8% are Associate Professors, Candidates of Sciences. The high authoritativeness and qualification of ONAFT’s teachers is certified by the fact that among the Academy’s teaching personnel there are 4 laureates of State award in the field of science and technics of Ukraine, 1 laureate of the Autonomous.

Republic of Crimea award, 11 distinguished workers of science and technics of Ukraine, 1 distinguished inventor of Ukraine, 1 distinguished culture worker of Ukraine, 26 full and Corresponding Member of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine and other Academies. 527 employees of ONAFT including 60 Doctors of sciences, professors, and 285 Candidates of Sciences, Associate Professors, participate in research work.

ONAFT has a post-graduate department which allows training of highly qualified research personnel. Two specialized councils for defense of Candidate of Sciences and Doctor of Sciences dissertations also operate in ONAFT. Theoretical science journals included as specialized journals to Higher Attestation Commission of Ukraine register are published by ONAFT. Scientists from the Academy have been awarded with two State awards of Ukraine in the field of science and technics. One is for the series of scholar papers titled “Scientific foundations of technologies of producing plan and biopolymer complex of nutrition fibers and their use in medical and prophylaxis nutrition”. These works are a product of more than 30 years of scientific activities on development of new generation food products. The second state award was won by the Academy for great contribution into development and introduction of new products and equipment aimed at provision of children with high quality canned nutrition of plant origin. ONAFT also was awarded with State award of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for its work “New technologies and equipment for high quality processing of wine-grapes in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea enterprises”. The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences awarded ONAFT for “Great accomplishment in agrarian science in 2003” for the work “Improving the quality of wine materials based on new methods of testing their pour resistance”.

High level of scholar work and implementation of its results are demonstrated by the production of new food products by the leading food enterprises of Ukraine such as “State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine”, “AVK”, “Kyiv Mill”, “Luhansk Mill”, “Novoukrainka Bakery Products Enterprise”, “French Boulevard” TM, “Myroniv Bakery Products”, “Harmash”. Trademarks such as “Shabo”, “Hercules”, “Ekovit”, “Sandora”, “Nasha Ryaba” have been implementing Academy’s research results for quite a long time. In the last 10 year scientists of the Academy have developed and implemented new rules for grain storage (State joint-stock company “Khlib Ukrainy”), new sorts of flour and bakery products (“Kyiv Mill”, “Luhansk Mill”, “Kulindor and Bilgorod-Dnistrovskyy Bakery Products Enterprises”, “Odeskyy Korovay” etc.), new sorts of cultured milk products and cheeses (“Balta Preserved Milk Products Enterprise”, “Galakton”, “Lactol” etc.), new sorts of sparkling wines and wines (“Shabo”, “French Boulevard”, “Odesa Factory of Sparkling Wines”, “Inkerman” etc.), new sorts of meat products (“Harmash”, “Sausages of Chernivtsi”, “Onis” etc.), new sorts of juices and sauces (“Sandora”, “Jaffa”, “Chumak”, “Veres”, “Vittmakr-Ukraine” etc.), new wiping machines (“Odesa Factory of Children Nutrition”), anti-dust systems (more than half of grain elevators in Ukraine), systems of automated enterprise management (“Mykolayiv Port Grain Elevator”, “Odesa Port Grain Elevator” etc.), new sorts of premixes and formula feeds (“Kombiko”, “Syluvit”, “Grain Club”, “Agrotrade-South” etc.).

For more than 100 years educational and research work in the Academy has been aimed at training specialists and developing new food products, their technologies and equipment for grain processing and food industries. Two special councils for defenses of Doctor of sciences dissertation in 5 specialization operate in the Academy, as well as 8 science schools. During the last 5 years the Academy has trained 13 Doctors of sciences and 97 Candidates of Sciences.

Scientists of the Academy developed many samples of equipment for processing of agriculture products. These include more than 10 mini factories for processing milk into dairy products (butter, sour cream, cheese etc.); 6 mini factories and machines for grain processing; an experimental sample of highly efficient cereals separator; automatic regulators of a complex system for management of cereals fraction separation and granulation of formula feeds factories. 30 grain dryers on 19 grain elevators of Ukraine were improved to operate in more efficient regime; 11 bakery products factories aspirational pipelines were modernized.

In 2003 Ministry of education and science of Ukraine attested the science and research activities of higher educational institutions of the III-IV grade according to which ONAFT belongs to highest “A” category. On the last four “HI-TECH” exhibitions the Academy has been awarded with golden medals. In 2004 the Academy was titled a Leader in the All- Ukrainian competition on training of personnel for food and grain processing industries («European Quality Award for the High Level of Educational Services Provision»). In 2006 ONAFT won the All-Ukrainian competition “100 best goods” in the nomination “Educational Services”. According to the rating compiled in compliance with UNESCO methodology the Academy took the 27th place among 200 best Ukrainian universities in 2007, 24th place – in 2004. Among technology universities the Academy took the 2nd place and was named one the most prestigious universities of the Southern Ukraine. In 2009 the Academy took the 33rd place in Ukrainian universities rating “TOP-200” according to opinions of employers, and in 2011 – 7th place.

Scholar works of the Academy are widely published in specialized journals issued by the Academy such as “Scientific works of ONAFT”, “Crops and formula feed”, “Food science and technology”, “The Economics of Food Industry”, “Automation of technological and business processes”, “Work of international geometry center”, “Scholar works of young scientists, postgraduates and students”. The Academy is also a cofounder
of such journals as “Products & Ingredients” and “Bulletin of Wine-making”.

In the last five years the Academy has implemented the principle of a polymorphous education through lifelong education. Institute for qualification improvement of food and grain industries specialists, School of Teaching Skills, School of Computer Technologies, the School of Foreign Languages “Success”, School for Small and Medium enterprises, Science and education Center for Information Technologies and others operate successfully within the structure of the Academy.
Every year ONAFT holds job fairs for food and grain processing enterprises of Ukraine. The demand for skilled specialists exceeds the proposition on the job market by 15-20%.

The scientists from the Academy work also on improvement of Ukraine legislation. ONAFT scientists are authors of an important bill “About feeds”, they also take part in preparation of the “Program for development of formula feeds industry in Ukraine until 2018”.

The Academy was also one of the initiators of a bill that obliges Ukrainian food producers to label their products if they contain genetically modified organisms. The Academy suggested including seven projects to the Draft Program “Diabetes” (2009-2013) to the direction called “Development and implementation ofmodern technologies for sugar substitutes production and recipes of special nutrition for people suffering from diabetes”. The ONAFT’s scientists take part in the information support for implementation of Interdisciplinary Complex Program “Health of the Nation” and are engaged to work in committees (ТК-24, ТК-154, ТК-120) in particular in committees for food hygiene, for food import, export, inspection system and control, for principles of labeling. Scientists of the Academy took part in the development of the program for development of bakery products industry until 2015 adopted on March 20, 2008. Ministry of agrarian policy of Ukraine proclaimed
ONAFT a responsible executor of this program and, therefore, the Science and Research Institute of Grain and Food Products was created within the structure of the Academy. ONAFT also partakes in preliminary actions regarding the establishment of National innovation cluster “New food products” along with 15 other participants. As a recognition of its high achievements the Academy has been granted membership in the following international associations and organizations:

• European University Association (EUA);
• Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN);
• European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST);
• International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE);
• Euroasian Universities Association (EAU);
• European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences;
• European University Association, which signed university charter (Magna Charta Universitatum);
• Platform “Dialogue – Eurasia”.

The cluster includes the following organizations:

A. Science and education institutions:

1. Odesa National Academy of Food Industry.
2. Science and Research Institute of Grain and Food Products of ONAFT.
3. Problem Science and Research Laboratory of ONAFT.
4. Science and Research Laboratory “Sterilization, quality assessment and safety of preserved products” of ONAFT.

B. Business enterprises (SMEs, private companies):

1. Collective enterprise “Prodtovary” (Bilgorod-Dnistrovskyy City).
2. Filial enterprise “Popilnya cannery”.
3. Closed stock enterprise “Kharkiv oil and fat factory”.
4. “Corado Canning Inc.” Ltd. (Rakoshyno village, Kalinina St., 51/1, Yuliya Olifrenko).
5. Canning factory “Univer” Ltd. (Fanchykovo village, Zhovtneva St., Vynohradiv Town, Promyslova St., 1, Oleksandra Lendyel and Nadiya Kovalchuk).
6. “Fruit Master Foods” Ltd. (Berehove, B.Khmelnytskyy St., 163, Dmytro Sobol).
7. “Makukha” tradehouse (Uzhhorod, Borodina St., 14; Lyudmyla Panchenko).
8. “Mikaland” Ltd. (90320, Perekhrestya village, Rakoci St., Yudita Peteyi).
9. “Harmoniya” (Uzhhorod, Babyaka St., 15, Anna Kovach).
10. “Chardonnais” Ltd., head of private winemakers of Transcarpathian Region (Uzhhorod, Oleksandr Kovach).