Chef Michael McGreal: Drill Sergeant, Veggie Ambassador; Next Steps on Arsenic and Rice

Chef Michael McGreal: Drill Sergeant, Veggie Ambassador
In this series—Culinary Point of View—Food Technology Senior Digital Editor Kelly Hensel interviews a different chef every month. This month, Hensel talked with Chef Michael McGreal, Culinary Arts Dept. Chair at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill. While pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine, McGreal got a job in campus foodservice to pay the bills. Little did he know that job would lead him to his true calling—culinary. His strict but inspiring professors at culinary school left an indelible mark on McGreal, who, when offered the chance, became an instructor himself. Much like a drill sergeant to the enlisted, McGreal hammers his students with skills they will need in the restaurant world. He not only teaches proper knife techniques to budding chefs, he also works with the Michelle Obama Chefs Move to Schools campaign to impart knowledge on how delicious and nutritious vegetables and fruits can be to local elementary grade children.

Next Steps on Arsenic and Rice
Last month, the U.S. FDA announced the results of testing 1,300 samples of arsenic in rice and rice products and found that the levels do not present an immediate or short-term health risk. The next step is to assess the potential health risk from long-term exposure to the arsenic in rice and foods made with this grain. In a recent ePerspective post, Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Senior Advisor for Toxicology in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, explains the scientific legwork that will be done over the next few months. This is a daunting task, due to the sheer volume of rice products. See the steps that will be taken by reading Fitzpatrick’s ePerspective post.

Face-to-Face: Meet Diane Dawson
In this month’s Face-to-Face series, we will be introducing you to Diane Dawson, President at Dawson Sales Co. Inc., a food ingredients brokerage company. In her years working in the food industry, she has helped bring cookies and cream ice cream to fruition, advance gummy technology by pairing Belgium food scientists with U.S. gummy manufacturers, and was key in getting dehydrated broccoli in shelfstable rice dishes. Most recently, she has worked on many health and wellness initiatives, including involvement with Kraft Foods and McDonald’s. Read Dawson’s Face-to-Face interview to learn where she sees the industry headed in the next year.

Food Technology’s Michigan Road Trip
Think about the Michigan economy, and the ups and downs of the auto industry may be what come to mind. But Michigan has a flourishing food and agriculture industry thanks to a combination of vision and hard work by its economic development agency. Food Technology Executive Editor Mary Ellen Kuhn recently traveled to the state for a close-up look at some of the initiatives that have allowed the food and agriculture system there to grow by about $20 billion between 2009 and 2012, reaching the current total of $91 billion in annual economic activity. Read the online exclusive to learn more about what the state is doing to spark food and agriculture growth.

Kelly Hensel
Senior Digital Editor
[email protected]