Patil honored as fellow by the Brazilian Horticulture Society

Contact: Dr. Bhimu Patil, 979-458-8090, b-patil@email.tamu.edu

RECIFE, Brazil — Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M University’s Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center in College Station, has been named a fellow by the Brazilian Horticulture Society for “his exceptional research and international collaborations in the area of produce, health, food and nutritional security.”

Patil was keynote speaker at the 56th Brazilian Vegetable Congress in Recife. He also met with Brazilian scientists from different universities to discuss partnering with the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, which aims to improve human health by multidisciplinary collaboration.

The title of fellow is bestowed by scientific societies to designate one who has made exceptional contributions to research and academia, according to the Brazilian Horticulture Society.

Patil has been given the fellow title by three other entities: the American Society for Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the American Chemical Society’s Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division.

Patil was cited for being a global leader in the “farm to consumer” approach to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables and thus reduce risk from certain diseases.

“I strongly believe that using a systemwide approach, ranging from production to consumer, using multidisciplinary scientists to produce healthy produce is helpful for providing nutritional security while reducing food insecurity issues around the globe,” Patil said.

He is a liaison with Texas commodity and allied food industry groups and provides leadership for “foods for health” by interacting with stakeholders, producers, retailers, processors and seed companies. He currently chairs the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Section of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences. He also served as chair of the Division of Agriculture and Food Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.

In 2005, Patil co-founded an international Human Health Effects of Fruit and Vegetables symposium, a biennial conference that continues to draw premier researchers from almost 40 countries to share the latest findings on enhancing the healthy aspects of fruit and vegetables.

He developed two unique multidisciplinary, multistate courses: “Science of Foods for Health” and “Phytochemicals in Fruits and Vegetables to Improve Human Health,” which are offered at several American universities.

More information about Patil and the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center can be found at http://vfic.tamu.edu/.  

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