Food Valley Ambassador from Armenia Name:                          Hasmik Hayrapetyan (female) Nationality:                  Armenian Year of birth:               1983 Education and work experience: • MSc in Food Safety, Wageningen UR • Master’s in Biology (Major in Food Biology) at Yerevan State University, Armenia, 2004-2006. • Internship: World Health Organization, Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses (WHO / FOS), Geneva, 2009. • Work experience: Conducting quality management lab tests at a fruit and vegetable processing factory (Sis Natural LLC), Armenia, 2005-2007. Specific knowledge: Food Safety, including Microbiology, Toxicology, Food Law, Food Safety Management. Comparably more experimental experience in Food Microbiology. Contacts in home country: • Sis Natural LLC (producer of canned fruit and vegetables) • Yerevan State University and an NGO FoodLab, which advises food producers in Armenia. Hence a possibility to contact majority of producers.  • Knowledge of food producers in Armenia in general. Knowledge of languages: Armenian (mother tongue), English, Russian, Dutch (beginner) Some pro's of Armenia: • Relatively inexpensive, well-educated and skilled workforce. • Competitive energy costs • No limitations on foreign ownership • Access to CIS and Middle East Markets • No export duties • Free repatriation of profit • products based on domestic, ecologically clean agri-products • Distinctive taste and lack of chemical fertilizers in agri-products Personal note: I studied Biophysics for my Bachelor’s, and then did a Master’s in Food Biology at Yerevan State University, Armenia. Food Biology (equivalent to Food Science) was a new specialization in my University and I was interested, as the food industry was taking off fast in Armenia. Starting in the second year of my Master’s I worked in a fruit and vegetable processing factory for two years. I worked in the lab, performing various quality management tasks. I wanted to develop my knowledge and skills in food safety further, and Wageningen University was my choice as one of the best in its field. The Food Valley Ambassador Program is an opportunity to gain experience in a real working environment and to get a feeling of how R&D is done here in the Netherlands. It also gives me an opportunity to expand my network, to meet professionals in the same line of work and to encounter a variety of businesses in the food industry. At the same time, I have the pleasure of introducing my country to others, and the opportunity to establish a business connection should the occasion arise in the future.