1. Introduction
As part of the third medium-term research plan, from 2011 to 2015, we decided to arrange an external evaluation of the specific programs of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), from the international perspective of overseas reviewers.
The 2013 international peer review of the NARO research program, "Elucidation of functions of agricultural products and foods and development of a provision system of reliable food information", was conducted at Tsukuba on August 28, 2013. In this review, the program's research progress and direction were assessed by three outstanding reviewers from abroad. In addition, a visit, including laboratories of NARO Institute of Food Research (NARO-NFRI) and a food company, which NARO collaborates was carried out prior to the international peer review meeting.
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| International peer review meeting | Visit a laboratory of NARO-NFRI |
2. Date
August 28, 2013
10:00 - 16:30
3. Venue
Tsukuba Office, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
4. Peer Reviewers
- Dr. John Milner, Center Director, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, USA
- Dr. Frans J. Kok, Full Professor in Nutrition & Health and Head of the Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
- Dr. Chin-Kun Wang, Professor, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan
5. The Review Process
The review is an assessment of the scientific progress and direction of four specific research projects, from an international perspective. The peer review format consists of an Action Class Assessment (S: high quality, no revision needed; A: good quality, minor revision needed; B: fair quality, minor revision needed; C: fair quality, major revision needed; D: poor quality; complete redesign needed), and the reviewers’ comments or suggestions for each of the four research projects, as well as the overall research program.
6. Research Projects
The research program consists of the following four research projects (RPs) for the period 2011–2015.
- RP310a: Development of standardized methods for analysis of functional components and for evaluation of the functionalities of agricultural products and foods
- RP 310b: Elucidation and effective utilization of metabolic regulatory functions of foods
- RP310c: Elucidation and effective utilization of food functionalities against homeostatic disturbances
- RP310d: Evaluation technologies for flavor, texture, and other sensory properties of foods
