NIHERST: Caribbean Icons in STI

Professor George Moon Sammy was a chemist, educator and a visionary who established higher education and training in food technology in Trinidad and Tobago in the late 1960s. From humble beginnings and with no more than a primary school education, he rose to become the first Ph.D. graduate from the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine in 1970. He became well known and highly respected in the agricultural sector in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. His work on the preservation of local produce was pioneering and was evidence of his dedication to ensuring regional food security and agricultural sustainability.

Professor Moon Sammy was passionate about the development of technologies that make optimum use of local fruits and vegetables. He educated farmers on canning, bottling, preservation and processing techniques to reduce spoilage and the transport cost of fresh produce. His aim was to make farmers self-sufficient and prosperous in small business. He also assisted in the formation of the National Food Crop Farmers Association, and that group honoured him posthumously in 2004, as part of their 30th Anniversary Celebrations.

Sammy created a blend of sweet potato flour and wheat flour, which tastes exactly like wheat flour with the intention of lowering the country’s wheat flour import bill and boosting local agriculture. His other pioneering work on composite flours included yam and cassava flours. He formulated the production of a colour-stable sorrel concentrate that had a longer shelf life and better taste than powdered dried petals. He formulated and canned a local fruit cocktail to replace imported products, devised a method for canning pigeon peas
to retain flavour and developed the “instant (dehydrated) yam” used in Barbados.

His work on plantain chips made it possible to commercialise the snack when it was thought previously that individual chips could not be made due to the stickiness of the plantains. Professor Sammy envisioned the growth of the agricultural industry in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. His work in Trinidad and Tobago aimed to stimulate agricultural production and the promotion of agro-industries, which were on the decline due to the growth of the energy sector.

George Moon Sammy was born on 17th November 1922 in Duncan Village, South Trinidad. His family was poor, so as a young boy he laboured at Union Hall (a sugar-cane estate) driving a mule-cart or bison and selling produce on the streets. He attended Canaan Canadian Mission School (now Presbyterian) School until age 13. He was unable to attend secondary school, but this did not deter him from furthering his education.

While working full-time, he enrolled to study at home through correspondence courses in French, chemistry and mathematics. In his free time he studied, did homework, practised his tables with family members and perfected his French by talking with his friends who attended school. When he was not studying in the day, he worked as an apprentice tailor on Coffee Street in San Fernando and took typing, shorthand and book-keeping courses. Afterwards, while employed at Texaco as an office boy, he was promoted to a lab hand. It was there his passion for chemistry was sparked and he gained a desire to pursue a career in this discipline at university. He spent many hours in the Carnegie Free Library in San Fernando, borrowing books that caused raised eyebrows among the librarians.

His hard work and intense determination paid off in 1953, when he passed the matriculation examination and was accepted by University of London, Sir John Cass College to study chemistry. He left his family at age 31 to fulfil his dream. During his time as a student in England, he spent his summer vacations working to earn his school fees, and also at World Scout Headquarters at Gilwell Park as a staff member. There, he trained scout leaders, including a few from Trinidad.

In 1957, Sammy graduated with Special Honours and returned home to his family and to start his professional career. Back in Trinidad, however, he was faced with several disappointments including being told that he would never be a research chemist. George Moon Sammy did not let this discourage him; rather, this fuelled his drive to become a chemist of extraordinary talents. In 1957 he got the esteemed position of Chemist at the Texaco Refinery Laboratory and in 1959 he was promoted to Research Chemist.

While a postgraduate student at UWI, in 1964, he was offered the position of lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. He enjoyed lecturing and recognising his innate academic capability, he enrolled to pursue a doctorate in physical organic chemistry. Two years later, he earned his Ph.D. degree. His interest then shifted to food chemistry and he completed a M.Sc. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, USA in 1967.

He returned to the University of the West Indies and introduced new courses in food technology and later established the Food Technology Unit with the first food technology laboratory in Trinidad and Tobago. He became the first Professor in Food Technology in 1977. He formed a “research school” in food technology and was responsible for training over 30 postgraduate students.

In an effort to sustain the viability of the agriculture industry Professor Sammy ran summer courses during the period 1968-1984 in the following: food inspection; food quality control; handling, packaging, storage and marketing of fresh fruit and vegetables; preservation of fruits and vegetables; and canning of fruits and vegetables. Over 1,000 persons benefited from these courses.

Outside of academic life, Professor Sammy was a lover of nature having grown up exploring the great outdoors. In the 1950s he was a scoutmaster who organised hikes and fun activities all over the country. He was made Deputy Camp Chief (Training) of the local scouts on the recommendation of the Camp Chief at Gilwell Park when he returned home form his first degree. He started the Trinidad and Tobago Tropical Fish Association and he owned an extensive collection of butterflies.

In 1984 he began a hybridisation programme for orchids and for his unique breeds he was awarded numerous prizes from the Orchid Society, of which he was an active member, and president for one term. He successfully registered three new orchid hybrids (which he named after his wife and granddaughters) with the International Orchid Society.

Among his other contributions to society, he was first Chairman of the Bureau of Standards, Chairman of the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and Member of the first Integrity Commission. He was also Chairman of an Inter-Religious Committee constituted to construct an Inter-Faith Centre at the St. Augustine Campus of UWI. This work reached the stage of a working model, but is yet to be built.

Sammy was also an Opposition Senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Senate for the United Labour Front (ULF) political party from 1976 to 1977. There he advocated government assistance for the development of the agricultural sector. His dedication to food and technology advancement and research led to the establishment of the Caribbean Institute of Food Science and Technology. For his contributions, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago awarded him the Hummingbird Medal Gold in1974 and the Chaconia Medal Gold (posthumously) in 1988.

Professor George Moon Sammy made significant contributions to the region’s capacity to be self-sufficient in food but the full potential of his research has not been fully realised. He died on 11th July 1986 at the age of 64. He is remembered as an outstanding researcher and educator, and a God-fearing man who was a devoted husband and father.

This Icon is also featured in the Video Documentary, Kids’ Booklet and Trinidad and Tobago Icons Volume I:

Sources:

Ramchand, Kenneth (1988) The man who disarmed all malice: An appreciation of George Moon Sammy. In the column "Matters Arising" Trinidad Guardian, Wednesday 20 July 1988 p.10.

Sammy, George Jr. (2004) Personal communication.

Problems and constraints to the development of the Agro-Processing Sector by Dr. Ian Lambert

Selected Publications:

Sammy, G.M. (1968) A preliminary pnvestigation of the feasibility of establishing a canning plant in Dominica. UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

Sammy, G. M. and Nawar, W. W. (1968) Identification of the major components of nutmeg oil by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Chem. Indust. p.1279

Sammy, G.M. (1971) Some problems in the establishment of fruit and vegetable processing in Trinidad and Tobago. In: Sammy, G. M. (ed.) Postgraduate seminar on food technology, session 2. Food Technology Series No. 5. Faculty of Engineering, University of the West Indies p. 1-16.

Sammy, G. M. (1975) Applications for roselle as a red food colourant. Food Product Development 9: 34 -40.

Sammy, G. M. (1976) A historical sketch of the development of Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) Concentrate. A case study. Unit of Food Science and Technology.

Steele, W.J.V. and Sammy, G.M. (1976) The processing potentials of yams. 1. Laboratory studies on lye peeling of yams. Journal of Agriculture, University of Puerto Rico (60): 207-214.

Canaan Canadian Mission, 1927-1940

Sir John Cass College, University of London - B.Sc. (Special Honours) Chemistry 1957

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine - Ph.D. Physical Organic Chemistry 1966

University of Massachusetts, USA - M.Sc. Food Science and Technology 1967

Professional Member, Institute of Food Technologists

Association of the Institute of Food, Science and Technology of the United Kingdom

George Moon Sammy - Food Chemist/Food Technologist

Sources:

George Moon Sammy
- Food Chemist/Food Technologist