Nominations open; JFSE announces contest winners

JFSE announces contest winners
The Journal of Food Science Education (JFSE) announced the winners of the 2016 “Food Science In Action” video contest, which had the theme “Busting Food Myths with Facts.” Ten submissions were accepted, and to determine the winner, the JFSE Editorial Board evaluated submissions based on scientific accuracy, creativity, tone, appropriateness for the target audience, and production quality. The first-place award went to “Beating the Heat: The Science Behind Relieving Spiciness” by Kyle Okada, Nuria Castanada, Lia Guardiola, Yiming Feng, and Dawn Bohn from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“This contest gave us the opportunity to take something that many people experience (eating spicy foods) and use science to explore the mechanism of spiciness sensation and why some rinses are more effective than others,” says Okada on behalf of the team. “It is important for students to learn to look for scientific rationale, and hopefully the videos in this contest get students thinking more about food science and trying to find explanations for phenomena in food and nutrition. This contest was great for spreading knowledge and increasing educational resources, especially in the face of perceptions and popular press that may not always be based in science.”

Second place was awarded to “A Legend-Dairy Bout” by Michael Freund of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and in third place was “Preserve and Protect: The Role of Nitrite” by Ben Averill, Elizabeth Morrow, and Samantha McKenna of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The winners were recognized at IFT16, and the theme for 2017’s contest will be announced soon. Click here to view all videos.

IFT Board nominations open
IFT encourages members to participate in the election process by nominating yourself or a colleague for IFT president-elect or the IFT Board of Directors. The Board of Directors engages in strategic thinking and planning to set the organization’s direction and mobilize resources to ensure IFT’s progress in achieving its mission. Board leaders are responsible for cultivating a professional community committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system.

“Being on the board has been a wonderful experience, and I’ve learned a lot along the way! I’ve met some great people and been able to influence the direction of the organization,” says IFT President John Coupland, who served on the Board from 2012 to 2015. “If you are passionate about the mission of the organization and willing to work hard, I encourage you to put your name forward. We need a diverse leadership that reflects different member experiences.”

The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, Sept. 30. Please take this opportunity to play a key role in the future of IFT. If you have any questions, please contact Kate Dockins, staff liaison for the Nominations & Elections Committee, at [email protected].

Click here to view the Candidate Guide.

McEntire joins United Fresh
United Fresh Produce Assoc. named Jennifer McEntire its new vice-president of food safety and technology.

“Jennifer is an expertly trained scientist, with specific expertise in microbiology and food safety,” says United Fresh president and CEO Tom Stenzel. “She’s an experienced association professional with skills nurtured in industry, academia, and regulatory circles that are critical to our business, and she’s a respected scientific leader among her peers in the food industry, academia, and the regulatory community.”

A professional member of IFT, McEntire most recently served as vice-president for science operations at the Grocery Manufacturers Assoc., and she previously was chief science officer at The Acheson Group and senior staff scientist at IFT. She received her BS from the University of Delaware and her PhD in food science from Rutgers University.

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DDW announces competition winners
DDW, The Color House, announced that a team from Washington State University won first place in the 2016 Natural Coloring Competition for Students.

Team captain Poonam Bajaj and members Maria Dian Pratiwi Masli, Deepali Jain, and Matthew Luke Tanoeihusada won $2,500 for their project, Beadsicle, which featured vivid, naturally colored gel beads suspended in a clear ice pop. The second-place team—with team captain Lily L. Yang and members Tommy Haufe and Hyun Sik from Virginia Polytechnic University—was awarded $1,000 for its project Trufflappear, which featured dual-colored cookies that changed colors upon baking.

FONA hires Lukas
Laura Lukas recently joined FONA International as vice-president for the company’s Grain Business Unit.

“[Lukas will] help foster incredible partnerships that deliver industry-changing innovation,” says executive vice-president TJ Widuch. “She has a proven dedication to strategic growth, and she knows how to create followings.”

An IFT professional member, Lukas brings 30 years of food industry experience to the role, including roles leading a wide variety of teams within the food industry, such as revenue generation, business development, marketing, R&D, and sales. She has an MBA in marketing and international business from DePaul University and a BS in food science and nutrition from Virginia Polytechnic University.

IFT announces scholarship winners
Feeding Tomorrow, the foundation of the Institute of Food Technologists, and its industry partners provide scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students that also offer an internship opportunity, which is completed during the summer months. The winners of the 2016–2017 scholarships and internships are as follows:

Caroline Smith, a senior at Purdue University majoring in food science, received the Evan Turek Mondele¯z Scholarship & Internship. She called the internship “a wonderful experience that will expose me to corporate leadership and practices, teach me though real world experience, and provide me with mentors who can help me provide future direction in food science.”

Evann Dufort, who is pursuing an MS in food science at University of Wisconsin–Madison, won the General Mills Scholarship & Internship, where she focused on label simplicity within the company’s meals platform. “It is very exciting to be surrounded by so many excellent scientists from all different backgrounds,” she reflects. “I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to work on a real project and have access to such incredible resources throughout General Mills.”

Hannah Vezzetti, a senior majoring in food science at Delaware Valley University, was awarded the PepsiCo Scholarship & Internship. “This scholarship will allow me to focus on the most important part of school, learning,” she says. “The generosity given to me by the donors of the Feeding Tomorrow Scholarship has inspired me to give back to my local community. I hope that one day I will be able to help students achieve their future goals, just as you have done for me.”

There are even more opportunities to apply for undergraduate and graduate scholarships that include internships. Click here for more information and to apply.

Applications will be accepted until Oct. 15. There will also be opportunities to apply for additional scholarships throughout the year.

Nitin receives fellowship
Nitin Nitin, associate professor at University of California, Davis, was named the inaugural holder of the Diane M. Barrett Fruit and Vegetable Faculty Fellowship, which honors the retiring extension specialist. As the Barrett Fellow, Nitin will serve as a liaison to the fruit and vegetable processing industries and receive income from the Barrett Endowment to support his teaching and research activities related to fruit and vegetable processing.

Nitin, a member of IFT, focuses his interdisciplinary research program on integrating food processing, sensing and imaging, and biomaterials engineering to uniquely address unmet needs in the areas of food quality and safety.

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Leadership changes at Briess
Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. president and chief operations officer Gordon Lane retired at the end of July, and vice-president of operations Ryan O’Toole assumed the role of chief operations officer.

Lane, a professional member of IFT, will join Briess’s board of directors. He joined the company in 2002 and helped it streamline operations and grow in size. “In the past four years we’ve grown from a malting company into a vertically integrated grain processing company and almost tripled the number of people in the Briess family,” says CEO Monica Briess. “And he’s done that without sacrificing who we are.”

O’Toole, a member of IFT, has a broad range of experience in the food and ingredients industries that spans more than 19 years. “Ryan shares our culture and values, and I’m excited about the future of Briess with Ryan at the helm,” says board of directors member Craig Briess.

Minor moves to HORN
Horn recently hired Christine Minor as senior account manager to serve HORN FoodTech’s Southern California customers. Prior to joining HORN, Minor was a business development manager at DSM Nutritional Products. She comes to the role with 26 years of expertise in food, beverage, and nutritional ingredient sales, including sales positions at ACH Foods, Cargill, Ocean Nutrition Canada, and Nellson Nutraceutical, and her technical knowledge spans applications from bakery to confections to nutritional bars and beverages.

“When we sought a candidate to take over our SoCal territory, we wanted to find someone who would bring the same clout on the field that our partners have come to expect of us,” says Jacqueline Grisotti, sales manager, HORN FoodTech. “Christine … brings to HORN a stellar industry reputation, technical expertise, and an enthusiasm that assures her ability to justly represent HORN.”

Getting to Know Brenda Knapp-Polzin
Each month, we meet one of IFT’s valued volunteers.

Developing relationships is one of the joys in my life,” says Brenda Knapp-Polzin, director and go-to-market technical manager at Cargill, who credits the relationships she has formed while volunteering with IFT with providing her “friendships, collaboration, problem solving, and advice that have been key to my personal and professional successes.”

Knapp-Polzin first became involved with IFT while working toward her MS at the University of Nebraska, and when a new job brought her to a small regional office in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, her membership and participation in the Minnesota Section enabled her to connect with other food science professionals in the area, something her workplace couldn’t provide. “This has led to many friends, colleagues, professional development, and fun, not just in Minnesota but globally as I continue to volunteer,” she reflects.

Over the years, Knapp-Polzin has been involved in a variety of ways, and she cites her time on the Board of Directors as one of the highlights of her professional career. In addition to her national IFT activities, Knapp-Polzin also volunteers on a local level, hosting a gourmet dinner and wine pairing event with her husband as part of the section’s silent auction benefitting scholarships.

She also recently became chair of the International Food Science Certification Commission (IFSCC), which oversees the governance of the Certified Food Scientist program. “The CFS program was launched while I served on the Board, and I volunteered to be part of the group that wrote the first collection of test items,” she explains. “As IFSCC chair, it’s an absolute joy and privilege to see how the program is growing and the importance a CFS certification brings to a professional’s career.”

Knapp-Polzin says she has received support for her volunteering efforts from her family and employers, and she suggests that members be sure their supervisors and companies know about the work they are doing, which can bring recognition and respect to the organization. “You are a reflection of your company,” she observes.

She also encourages potential volunteers to find work that they are drawn to and “right size” the time commitment they are making, something that may be easier in the current era, since so many volunteer opportunities do not require in-person meetings. “Service could be as simple as an administrative role for a committee or activity. The important thing is to volunteer for something that is personally engaging and brings value to the profession,” she says.

Section Meetings
Bluegrass
Oct. 11: Suppliers’ night. Louisville.

Minnesota
Oct. 25: Suppliers’ night. Minneapolis.

In Memoriam
Alina Surmacka Szczesniak passed away July 23. An emeritus professional member of IFT, she was an IFT Fellow and the only woman to receive the Nicolas Appert Award. Szczesniak spent her entire professional career as a research scientist with the General Foods Corp. (now Kraft Foods) in Tarrytown, N.Y., retiring in 1985 as a principal scientist. She was a founding editor of the Journal of Texture Studies and served as its co-editor in chief from 1970 to 1979, and she helped found IFT’s sensory community. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College and a doctor of science in food technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bruno Filice passed away July 11. A former chair of the Northern California Section, Filice studied food technology at the University of California and worked in the food canning industry with roles in food technology, quality control, research, and field operations. He retired in 1988.

IFT also notes the passing of the following members: Walter Fiddler, Stanley Kuklis, and Makram H. Meshreki

Have some news to share about yourself or another IFT member? Email [email protected].