Food Laws and Regulations Division

Newsletter - Vol. 8, No. 4 - Fall 1998

Table of Contents 

Message from the Chair

"The word is getting out about our Division. More groups are contacting us about collaborative ventures."
      -Barbara Rasco

I want to personally thank everyone in the Division who made the recent Annual Meeting such a success for the Division. Our first technical session on Food Laws and Regulations was attended by approximately 100 people on a Monday morning. The high level of interest is encouraging since Food Laws and Regulations is one of the first Divisions to tackle issues at the interface of science and policy as part of a "technical" session with volunteered papers from IFT membership at large. Although symposia and special forums are great ideas, I still believe that the Annual Meeting is for the MEMBERS of IFT and should be a forum for THEIR ideas, thoughts, and opinions on issues facing industry and the profession.

For the technical session we had speakers on the following subjects:

These were interesting sessions and I hope that next year's technical sessions are even more successful.

 Two graduate students, Ms. Wendy Jackson from North Carolina State University, and Ms. Corrina Colatore from The University of Massachusetts, participated in our technical session as the first submissions to the Division's Graduate Student Paper Competition. Now that the word is out, we hope to encourage more students to consider the legal implication of their research and have greater participation next year.

Our four symposia were also well attended. Especially popular was the Division sponsored session on Nutraceuticals - Functional Foods for Health. Our other sessions on The Impact of International Food Packaging Laws on Trade, Food Safety: Products Liability and HACCP and Development in Global Biotechnology Regulation were quite well attended and received good reviews by attendees. These sessions were taped, and copies are available by calling IFT at 1-800-IFT-FOOD

I don't know where the summer has gone, but it is time to put some thoughts together for next year's program (already?). If you have ideas on issues we should address, please send them to me at rasco@wsu.edu or to Ralph Glover, our Chair-elect at rjglover@aol.com. No email? My phone is (509)335-1858 and Ralph's is (208)454-4619.

Currently we have symposia which are beginning to gel for the 1999 Annual Meeting. One is on novel food processing technologies in the regulatory environment; the second on the regulatory process, communications and the science of dietary supplements. We are considering a session on the interface between environmental law, food processing and safety. This is your Division and we'd love to have your input - but need to have it soon!

...Barbara Rasco,
Division Chair

On the Web - The Division Home Page...

Go to your IFT Food Laws and Regulations Home Page at http://www.ift.org/divisions/foodlaw and find links to almost 300 different sites related to food and food regulations. The Internet is constantly changing and the home page which has the information you need immediately may have moved. The links on IFT's Food Laws and Regulations Home Page are reviewed periodically; new ones added; and inactive ones removed. Add one site to your bookmarks or favorites and forget about having to keep track of food law and regulations sites on your list.

The links are divided into nine major categories:

1. Associations - Here you will find other associations related to food and law, such as American Association of Cereal Chemists, American Bar Association, Food and Drug Law Institute, and many more.
2. Government - FDA is here, as is USDA, Commerce and Justice. Some of the many resources available at each of these sites are also listed, pointing you directly to the information you need without having to search through these large and growing sites. Need to track the legislative side? Links are provided to Congressional resources such as the Library of Congress, the House and the Senate. Also listed are various information resources, both those provided by the Government and the private sector which develops information on government activities.
3. International - Information from International Organizations and countries other than the United States.
4. Judicial - Information on decisions by the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts.
5. Libraries - Links to the National Agricultural Library and the National Library of Medicine and their online databases, Medline and Agricola.
6. Private Sources - Web sites established by companies, including journals and news gathering organizations, providing their information on-line (some free, some not) and individuals providing links to other related sites.
7. State and Local - Information on actions affecting food laws and regulations from state and local governments.
8. University Sources - Includes courses on Food Law and Regulations taught at various universities and other food law related information compiled at universities.
9. Other Sources - these sites are not always food related, but contain interesting and useful information.

Remember some information in a past Division newsletter, but can't find it? Issues from the last couple of years are also available on the Division Home Page. Need to contact one of the Division Officers, but can't remember their phone number or e-mail address? You guessed correctly-it's on the Home Page. Also available is information on symposia sponsored by the Division at IFT's Annual Meeting, as well as Division sponsored courses held throughout the year.

If you have any suggestions on information to be included on the Division's Home Page or new sites to be added to our extensive listings, please contact the Web Master using the e-mail address on the Home Page.

...David Haytowitz,
www Webpage Meister

Executive Committee Report

The Division's Executive Committee met during the Annual Meeting in Atlanta.   Highlights include:

From the Membership Committee...

The Food Laws and Regulations Division continues to be strong and dynamic. The membership consists of individuals who collectively have a broad range of academic, government and industry experience and work with, or are interested in, all aspects of federal, state, and international food laws and regulations.

Membership benefits are many; one of the most important being that individuals can interact personally with others who share the food law and regulatory interest. The Division sponsors symposia and seminars at IFT annual meetings; sponsors, or is involved with, several other activities during the annual meeting; works with IFT and FDA on short courses; and cosponsors a listserve for the exchange of information, including the Employment Recruiting Committee's posting of available positions. This is only a partial list of the Division's activities. Members are kept informed through the Division's newsletter, which also includes news, coming events, abstracts of articles on food laws and regulations, book reviews, and other items of interest.

The Division continues to develop programs to add value to membership. We recently formed a Public Information Committee to comment on public issues or concerns.

Tell others about the benefits of membership in the Food Laws and Regulations Division. Let us all work together toward the growth of the Division. Ask new members to join us by contacting Laurie Cornwell atIFT:

Phone: 1-800-IFT-FOOD
Fax: 312-782-8348
email: lacomwell@ift.org.

...Gloria Brooks-Ray,
Membership Chair

Editor's Corner...

We have a changing of the guard with this Fall Newsletter. Jim Vetter and I hope to uphold the quality that Mary and Polly brought to this publication. To do this we need your feedback !! If there are issues or topics of interest that you would like to see addressed, just let us know and we will be happy to include them. I hope that your fall and early winter are happy and healthy.

... Janine Neils,
Newsletter Co-Editor

Please submit articles or information for the next newsletter by December 15, 1998. Send information to the Editors at the addresses below. Please send comments, suggestions, concerns and corrections to us, we want to hear from you,

Newsletter Deadline - DECEMBER 15, 1998

Division Sponsored Short Courses...

The Division will sponsor four IFT Continuing Education short courses in 1998 as well as 1999. Two have been on Food Labeling and two have been on Food Laws and Regulations. The 1998 courses have been very well attended and received high ratings on attendee evaluation forms. Plans are being made to present two more of each of the courses in 1999.

The Division receives $1,000 each time one of these courses is presented and a surplus of income over expenses is realized. This not only represents signifrcant income potential for IFT and the Division, it also is a major "technology transfer" program that provides the type of training that many working in the field have not had. If you or a colleague could use a refresher or basic information session, consider attending one of the 1999 offerings.

A notebook of handout material is received by each registrant. In addition, the book, Food Labeling - Requirements for FDA Regulated Foods, is available at a discounted price for the Food Labeling course and the book, Food Laws and Regulations, is given to each registrant at the Food Laws course.

For additional information call Dean Duxbury at IFT(1-800-IFT-FOOD) or Jim Vetter at (913)897-2963.

...Jim Vetter,
Short Course Coordinator

Call for Papers - Graduate Student Paper Competition...

Papers for the second Graduate Student Paper Competition sponsored by the Food Laws and Regulations Division can be submitted in any subdiscipline of food science but must include a focus on international, federal or state laws, regulations, or guidelines affecting food safety, processing, labeling, or other appropriate areas. Examples of possible topics include the following:

Abstracts should be clearly marked as a paper for the Food Laws and Regulation Division's Graduate Student Paper Competition.

...Barbara Rasco,
Competition Coordinator

1998 Symposia Attendance...

The Division-sponsored symposia presented at the National Meeting were well attended. The Neutraceuticals-Functional Foods for Health session attracted 401, the third highest attendance of any symposium at the meeting!! The attendance figures were:

This page is maintained by the Food Law and Regulations Division of the Institute of Food Technologists. To submit materials for posting on the Division's home page or to make other comments, contact David Haytowitz

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