A U.S. Cranberries, Highbush Blueberries, and Pecans Health Benefits Seminar Series was held in Changsha, Hangzhou, and Nanjing between September 16 and 20, 2019. These seminars were sponsored by the USDA's Global Broad-Based Initiative (GBI) Program. Over 200 guests, including food scientists, nutritionists, dietitians, health workers, trade, journalists, and others attended the events in the three cities.

Prominent representatives who gave opening remarks included:

• Michael Francom, Director of Agricultural Trade Office, U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou
• Liu Aiping, Executive Secretary General, Dietitian Work Association of Hunan Province
• Ding Guangqiang, Vice President, Chinese Nutrition Society
• Hua Jinzhong, Executive Vice President, Zhejiang Province Nutrition Society
• Sun Guiju, President, Nanjing Nutrition Society

Presentations on the health and nutritional benefits of the products were given by the following experts:

• Dr. Amy Howell, Associate Research Scientist, Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research, Rutgers University
• Julia Zhu, Consultant, U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
• Dr. Ronald Pegg, Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology, the University of Georgia

During the tea breaks of all three events, guests were served with delicious and attractive desserts, snacks, and beverages prepared specially by the various hotels’ chefs using cranberries, blueberries, and pecans.

The guests attending the seminars not only showed a lot of interest in the products’ health benefits, but also exhibited high levels of involvement during the seminar. Many questions and comments were raised during the Q&A sessions.

This year, CMC collaborated with the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS) in holding three GBI seminars. CNS assisted by recruiting their members, who are the exact target audience and who include food scientists, nutritionists, dietitians, and health workers, to attend the seminars. CNS itself is a multi-disciplinary professional organization dedicated to the research and application of the best nutritional practices for the promotion of human well-being and the prevention of diseases. Currently, CNS has over 30,000 members throughout China.