Face-to-Face: Meet Moira McGrath; High-Pressure Processing’s Effect on Meat Products; The Role of Processed Foods in a Healthy Diet

IFT Career Center
One of the most popular sections of the IFT website is the Career Center, which provides insights and information to help advance your career in food science and the food industry. Not only is there a plethora of food science job listings, but you can also learn the latest salary figures and employment outlook data for the industry. In addition, if you are attending the 2012 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo, you can interact with the Career Center live via the Career Fair taking place June 26. As a job seeker, entry to the event is free to registrants of the IFT Annual Meeting.

Face-to-Face: Meet Moira McGrath
In this month’s Face-to-Face series, we will be introducing you to Moira McGrath, President of OPUS International Inc. McGrath founded the company in 1993 in response to the food science industry’s growing demand for highly specialized, professional executive placement assistance. In addition, she is a member of the Advisory Council for the food science departments of both Cornell and the University of Florida. Learn from her vast expertise in the food science industry by reading IFT’s Face-to-Face interview, where she’ll fill you in on how she sees the future of the industry.

High-Pressure Processing’s Effect on Meat Products
High-pressure processing is a useful tool for pasteurizing food while maintaining the quality of fresh food. However, even at moderate pressure, this process is not without effects on food, especially on meat products. These effects are especially important because pressure greater than 400 MPa is generally necessary to achieve efficient microbial inactivation. An article published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety reviews recent advances in the understanding of the impacts of high pressure on the overall quality of raw and processed meat.

The Role of Processed Foods in a Healthy Diet
Now more than ever, the role of food in health is of great interest and concern to many people. IFT member Eric Decker, Professor and Department Head of Food Science at University of Massachusetts Amherst, was the guest speaker at the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research, NC-FAR, Hill Research Seminar Series covering the subject, “Do processed foods have a place in a healthy diet?” Download the science report to learn more about the role processed foods can play in a healthy lifestyle.

Kelly Hensel
Digital Media Editor
[email protected]