It is my great honor to make the opening speech of the fifty-first International Conference with a theme “Platform Technology for Sustainable Growth of Foods from Animal Sources.”On behalf of the Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources, I would like to extend a wholehearted welcome to all distinguished speakers and participants from overseas and Korea.

We are very proud of hosting this conference at the Convention Hall of Chonnam National University here in Gwangju, Korea. This conference is aimed at sharing the current knowledge among the participants with an aim to develop innovative food products of animal origins. Hundreds of delegates from all over the world are expected to exchange their academic and industrial knowledge and experiences and also to stimulate further interactions during the conference.

I would like to thank all attendants for supporting this conference. Without your active participation, it would be impossible to host this conference successfully. I also would like to give special thanks to Dr. Chang-Bum Yang, Director General of National Institute of Animal Science, for co-hosting this conference and Dr. Byungseok Jeong, President of Chonnam National University, for providing this fantastic conference venue. and Seung-Jin Jang, Director of Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation.

Welcome again to this conference. Enjoy the conference and Southern hospitality while in Gwangju. Thank you!