Chef Gale Gand’s Sweet Success; The Fundamentals of Food Traceability; Meet Joseph Donovan

Chef Gale Gand's Sweet Success
Growing up with artists as parents, it was easy for Gale Gand to find herself studying metalsmithing in college. However, she found her true calling while waitressing at a local restaurant. From there her entrepreneurial spirit and artistic nature lead her to become a nationally acclaimed pastry chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, television personality, and James Beard Award winner. Gand is the founding pastry chef and partner of the Chicago restaurant Tru and has written eight cookbooks. She is currently working on her ninth cookbook, managing her root beer company—Gale’s Root Beer, and teaching a series of baking and cooking classes in the Elawa Farm kitchen in Lake Forest, Ill.

The impact and consequences of banning trans fatty acids
On Nov. 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. In a recent ePerspective post, Eric Decker, Professor and Dept. Head, Dept. of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, explains that this proposed rule is not without consequences to many individuals so it is critical that this decision is made carefully. Decker explains that some partial hydrogenation technologies, such as electrochemical hydrogenation, can produce low levels of trans fatty acids. Could these products be used in foods if the proposed rule is passed? If so, what criteria would be used to determine if they are GRAS? Read Decker’s blog post for his expert opinion on the FDA’s proposed rule and then comment with your thoughts.

Face-to-Face: Meet Joseph Donovan
In this month’s Face-to-Face series, we will be introducing you to Joseph Donovan, Graduate Research Assistant at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Donovan is currently working towards his Ph.D. in the area of microencapsulation, spray drying, and consumer acceptance. He received his undergraduate degree in food science and technology from Rutgers University and is very involved in IFT. He is the Co-chair of IFT’s Feeding Tomorrow Fun Run, and in 2013 helped raise $100,000 for the Foundation. Read Donovan’s Face-to-Face interview to see what this new professional’s plans are for the future of the food industry.

The Fundamentals of Food Traceability
The Global Food Traceability Center is holding two traceability webcasts this December. The first takes place on Dec. 11 at 12 p.m. CT. Product tracing has emerged as a critical means to follow key information about the attributes and origin of products—from farm to processing to retail and foodservice, or to the family table. The experts in this webcast will explore the basic concepts of traceability, traceability regulations, and the challenges faced by small to mid-size companies when implementing traceability practices. It will address general principles, systems, and common best practices for traceability. The second webcast on Dec. 12, will explore the current traceability technologies.

Kelly Hensel
Senior Digital Editor
[email protected]