NEWS & ANALYSIS
NEWS OF INDUSTRY
MacNeil Specialty Products and Neose Technologies form joint venture
MacNeil Specialty Products Company, New Brunswick, N.J., winner of IFT’s 1999 Industrial Achievement Award for development of the low-calorie sweetener, sucralose, has formed a joint venture with Neose Technologies, Inc., Horsham, Pa., to develop cost-effective production of certain complex carbohydrates.
The two companies have been working together for two years to develop novel enzymatic technologies from large-scale production of bioactive carbohydrates identical to plant-derived carbohydrates. The joint venture, which is expected to offer products with purity and price advantages, replaces and expands the previous research and development agreement between the two companies.
For more information about this joint venture, visit Neose’s Web site at www.neose.com.
Novigen Sciences forms International Regulatory Practices Group
Novigen Sciences, Inc., Washington, D.C., has recently formed a new International Regulatory Practices Group under the direction of J. Robert Tomerlin. Gloria Brooks-Ray, currently a Councilor Representative to the IFT Executive Committee, manages Codex activities within the group, and Cecilia Gaston manages international regulatory issues, including compliance with European Union directives.
The Group will draw upon Novigen’s expertise in the fields of dietary intake assessments and occupation exposure techniques to provide clients with cutting edge risk assessment capability. Novigen’s expertise may be applied to risk assessment for compounds, as well as strategy inputs to decision making during the product development process.
The company’s broad experience in working with foreign governmental agencies and international organizations will allow it to support a wide range of international regulatory issues, including a complete use of Codex Alimentarius services.
Diana Vegetal newly formed French ingredients group
A new ingredients group, Diana Vegetal, Antrain, France, has been formed from the merger of three French companies—Aromes de Bretagne, Verniers, and Joudinaud Span. The new company, a natural fruit and ingredients specialist, offers a wider range of products and expanded technical support for applications, marketing, and product innovation.
Diana Vegetal’s U.S. partner is RFI Ingredients, 300 Corporate Drive, Suite 14, Blauvelt, NY 10913 (phone 914-358-8600; fax 914-358-9003). Diana Vegetal may be reached by telephone at +33-2-99-98-40-77; fax +33-2-99-98-45-39; E-mail: [email protected].
Food relief organization changes name and logo; teams with ConAgra and Hewlett-Packard for relief programs
Second Harvest, Chicago, Ill., the domestic hunger-relief organization with a national network of 189 regional food banks, has changed its name to “America’s Second Harvest” and redesigned its logo to reflect an aggressive stance to end hunger in America.
The new logo, designed pro bono by New York-based Siegel & Gale, is an abstraction of both the American flag and a gingham tablecloth. The red, white, and blue of the flag suggests the national impact America’s Second Harvest makes in distributing food to the hungry, 26 million in America last year. The gingham tablecloth indicates food for everyone in America, the land of plenty.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman hosted the National Summit on Community Food Security October 14-15 in Chicago. The conference featured workshops on a variety of topics, a main plenary on the global food system, and best practices in community food security. On October 14, Hewlett-Packard debuted a revolutionary E-service in partnership with America’s Second Harvest that will change the way surplus food is distributed to food banks and charities.
ConAgra, Inc., Omaha, Neb., is partnering with America’s Second Harvest to attack childhood hunger in the largest corporate initiative dedicated to that facet of hunger. “Feeding Children Better,” developed by ConAgra, is a strategic approach to improve the charitable food distribution system in the U.S. There are three major components: expanding Kids Cafes to provide hungry children with square meals in a safe, nurturing environment that feeds the “whole” child; streamlining the collection and distribution of donated food to get it to hungry families faster and cheaper; and raising awareness about the hidden nature of childhood hunger. It has been estimated that one in every five persons in line at a soup kitchen is a child, and statistics show that requests for emergency food assistance rose 14% in 1998, with two-thirds of the requests coming from families with children. ConAgra’s “Feeding Children Better” also partners with the “End Hunger Network,” a Los Angeles-based nonprofit agency founded in 1983 which works with the entertainment industry to create media projects, programs, and events aimed at ending hunger.
Government News
Susan Alpert, Ph.D., M.D. has been selected Director of Food Safety in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She replaces Morris Potter, who left FDA to become the Executive Director of International Life Sciences and ILSI North America.
As Director of Food Safety, Alpert will provide leadership for the President’s Food Safety initiative. As the Center’s senior physician, she will also oversee all medical and clinical aspects of food safety across the broad range of FDA’s food safety responsibilities. FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety of all food sold in the U.S. except for meat, poultry, and eggs—78% of all food consumed in America.
A graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, Alpert received her Ph.D. in medical microbiology from the New York School of Medicine. Her medical degree is from the University of Miami School of Medicine and she trained in pediatrics at Montefiore Hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her training in pediatric infectious disease at Children’s Hospital, Washington, D.C., as part of a joint program with FDA. Prior to this appointment, she was Director of the Office of Device Evaluation in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. She joined FDA in 1987 as Supervisory Medical Officer in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Among numerous honors and awards, she most recently received the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 1998.
NEWS OF PEOPLE
• Osmonics, Minnetonka, Minn., appointed Edward J. Fierko President and Chief Operating Officer, and Keith B. Robinson Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration. • Fred H. Stults joined Bush Boake Allen, Inc., Montvale, N.J., as Vice President, Flavor and Fragrance Research and Development. • Marcella Arline was promoted to Vice President, Quality and Regulatory Compliance, Hershey Foods Corporation, Hershey, Pa.
• Ken Gignac has retired from Elgin Dairy Foods, Inc., Chicago, Ill., after 30 years. He will be succeeded as Elgin Dairy Foods’ CEO by Ed Gignac. • Erica Reiner was appointed to the newly created position of Strategic Business Development Manager at David Michael & Co., Inc., Philadelphia, Pa. She will be based in Chicago, Ill. • Karie A. Willyerd was appointed to the newly created position of General Manager—Executive and Leadership Development at H.J. Heinz Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. • The PQ Corporation, Valley Forge, Pa., appointed Robert E. Patterson Director of Silica Technology in its corporate Research and Development Division.
• Bush Boake Allen, Inc., Montvale, N.J., appointed the following to the Flavor Division: Michael O. Springsteen, Vice President, Vanilla Products; Scott Surma, Midwest Account Manager; Milton Seecharran, Senior Flavorist; and Terri Bell, Bakery Technologist. • Arlene S. Murphy was promoted to Vice President, Sales (Distributor Accounts) for the Food Service Group of McCormick & Company, Incorporated, Sparks, Md. • At Flavorite Laboratories, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., Monte Manguno was named Vice President of Sales & Marketing, and Carlos Madero joined the Flavorite team as Technical Manager, International. John Hadley joined the company as Associate Food Scientist in the Industrial Division; Dawn D. Patterson as Associate Food Scientist in the Foodservice Division
• ITT Industries, Upper Saddle River, N.J., appointed Richard J.M. Hamilton President of its Specialty Products business segment. • Jeffrey B. Morgan was elected to the newly created position of Vice President, Operations, for Industrial Scientific Corporation, Oakdale, Pa. • Cory Comstock joined Oregon Chai, Portland, Ore., as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing. • PSC Inc., Webster, N.Y., appointed Lloyd West Senior Vice President, Global Sales Operations. • Opta Food Ingredients, Inc., Bedford, Mass., promoted Ted Theriault to the newly created position of Vice President, Sales.
• Dean Foods Company, Franklin Park, Ill., named William M. Luegers Vice President and Treasurer. • Decas Cranberry Products, Inc., Wareham, Mass., appointed George J. Viamari Jr. as Director, International Sales and Marketing. •Tim Hallows joined the California Strawberry Commission, Watsonville, Calif., as Merchandising Manager for the Western Region. He will be based in Salt Lake City, Utah. • Neogen Corporation, Lansing, Mich., named Dorn Severtson to the newly created position of Director of Sales for the company’s Food Service, Seafood, and Fruit and Vegetable market segments. • Melchers Flavors of America, Inc., Fairfield, Ohio, appointed Dave Williams Western Regional Sales Representative.
• Kunzler & Company, Inc., Lancaster, Pa., named Jeffrey Butts Plant Superintendent, and Dennis Eckman Night Plant Superintendent. • David Corso was appointed Director of Marketing, North America, at AMI Bearings, Inc., Mt. Prospect, Ill.
NEWS OF SOCIETIES & ASSOCIATIONS
IAMFES changes
organizational name
Members of the International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians (IAMFES) have voted to change the name of the organization to the International Association for Food Protection, effective January 1, 2000.
The change is intended to reflect the focus of the members and to identify the association easily. Its mission, “to provide food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply,” will remain the same.
Over the next few months, the new name will be implemented in publications, mailings, Web site (www.foodprotection.org), and Annual Meeting information. The address, phone and fax numbers will remain the same.
American Oats merges with North American Millers
Members of the American Oats Association (AOA), Minneapolis, Minn., have voted to merge with the North American Millers’ Association (NAMA), effective October 1, 1999.
AOA was established in 1989 as an industry-wide association of members including producers, processors, cereal manufacturers, traders, transportation companies, researchers, feed mill companies, and seed dealers. In 1997 it was reorganized to become an affiliation of U.S. and Canadian oat millers, which included industry associate millers. NAMA is a trade association representing the dry milling of wheat, corn, and rye. It was established in 1998 as a result of the merger of the Millers’ National Federation (wheat floor millers), the American Corn Millers’ Federation (corn dry millers), and Protein Grain Products International (specialty grain millers). NAMA’s 39 member companies operate 164 wheat and corn mills in 36 states.
AOA’s Executive Director, Pat Henderson, will be active in the transition process and continue as contact for the oat industry at the interim NAMA Oat Division Office in Minneapolis. She may be reached by phone at 612-542-9817 or E-mail: [email protected]. The North American Millers’ Association may be contacted at 600 Maryland Avenue S.W., Washington, DC 20024 (call 202-484-2200; fax 202-488.7416; E-mail: [email protected]).
Food Marketing Institute moves to new address
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has moved its Washington offices to a new location. As of October 1, 1999, FMI’s new address is 655 - 15th Street N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 (telephone 202-452-8444; fax 202-429-4519; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.fmi.org).
ADA names Patricia Godfrey Outstanding Nutrition Entrepreneur of the Year
Patricia Godfrey, RD, LD, CFCS, of Minneapolis, Minn., was recently honored as Outstanding Nutrition Entrepreneur of the Year by the American Dietetic Association. 1999 marks the 15th year of her company, Nutrition & Food Associates.
Godfrey has been a leader in providing nutrition information to the consumer. In 1978, she wrote the first cookbook that included complete nutrition information which began the trend still prevalent today of including nutrition information in recipes and cookbooks. In 1992, her company introduced Nutriform® software, a tool for nutrition analysis and food product labeling and the first regulatory software to comply with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act.
FMIF creates Industry Advisory Council; awards grant for food safety education
The Food Marketing Institute Foundation (FMIF) has created an Industry Advisory Council to provide counsel on the administration of grants from the organization’s Safeguarding Our Last Link fundraising campaign. Proceeds from the campaign will be used to promote food safety education programs nationwide. Comprised of food retailing and manufacturing executives, the Council will meet periodically to review research and educational grant applications. It will also provide direction on defining the types of food safety education programs that qualify for funding.
FMIF has announced its inaugural grant to the Partnership for Food Safety Education, a public-private partnership of industry, government, and consumer groups dedicated to reducing the incidence of foodborne illness. The grant will be used to fund a food safety education program at schools nationwide. The program, called Your Game Plan for Food Safety, is designed to increase awareness of the basic steps of safe food handling among fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classes. The classroom kit features a video, fun family take-home exercises, and inquiry-based activities and experiments which will inspire children to discover the science behind food safety and encourage them to learn through experimenting, investigating, and exploring.
Program kits are free while supplies last to classroom teachers and other educators who teach fourth-to-sixth grade students. To obtain a copy, visit the Fight BAC!™ Web site at www.fightbac.org and complete an order form. Or, submit a written request on school letterhead to Video Placement Worldwide, 25 Second St. North, Suite 120, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (fax 800-358-5218; Web site: www.vpw.com).
Food Temperature Indicator Association newly formed trade association
Food temperature indicator manufacturers recently joined forces to form a new organization, The Food Temperature Indicator Association (FTIA). Its purpose is devoted to the education of consumers in the use of thermometers for food safety.
Noting the increase of E. coli and other food pathogens in the food chain as well as a 1996 Kansas State University research study indicating that relying on the color of ground beef was not sufficient in determining doneness, temperature indicator manufacturers determined that an organization focusing on education would provide an important service. The organization will function as a liaison between the food industry, government, and consumers while also acting as a conduit of accurate, consistent information to and from the USDA on the proper use of food temperature indicators.
The first press conference and membership meeting will be held in January 2000 in Washington, D.C. For more information, contact FTIA Chair Ed Gustafson at 770-441-1443; fax 770-441-3258.
NRA’s Educational Foundation gives Restaurant Neighbor Awards
The Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association has presented its 1999 Restaurant Neighbor Awards to The Wilson Street Grill in Madison, Wis. and to Martin’s Caterers in Baltimore, Md. The award recognizes restaurateurs’ support of their local communities.
In the category of “companies with sales of less than $1 million,” Wilson Street Grill owners Nancy Christy and Andrea Craig have committed since 1987 to hiring people with disabilities. Their objective is to provide a meaningful work environment and job opportunities to an otherwise underutilized employee pool. Currently, eleven of the restaurant’s 27 employees have a disability, a significant number who might otherwise be unemployed.
In the category of “companies with sales of more than $1 million,” Martin’s Caterers won for its “M.R. Bucks” community project. What began ten years ago as a traditional “Adopt-A-School” project has evolved into a hands-on partnership between the catering company and the staff and students of Riverview Elementary and Landsdowne Middle Schools in Baltimore. Throughout the school year, students can earn “M.R. bucks” for improved attendance, behavior, and academic performance. At the end of the school year, student “millionaires” can redeem their “money” for an all-expense-paid trip to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Since the program’s inception, the two schools have reached 97% attendance rates and attained notably higher academic scores.
In addition to the two winners, the NRA Educational Foundation cited Ned’s Catering, Oklahoma City, Okla., with special recognition for its volunteer efforts during the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the tornado tragedy which struck Oklahoma City last spring. Ned’s Catering spearheaded hunger-relief programs for thousands of victims and rescue workers involved in these tragedies.
This is the first year the Association and the Foundation have created an award specifically to recognize community service. American Express Company is the program’s sponsor. A booklet highlighting these community service activities, and others, is available at no charge from Alyssa Prince at 800-424-5156.
AFFI joins The Alliance for Better Foods
The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) has joined The Alliance for Better Foods, a coalition of more than 80 food industry companies and trade associations formed to disseminate information about the benefits of biotechnology in food production to policy makers, the media, opinion leaders, and trade organizations.
A pivotal issue which could impact the future use of biotechnology in the frozen food industry, and the food industry in general, is whether U.S. consumers will continue to accept food biotechnology as a positive development that requires no special regulatory framework. Despite its benefits, the European Union, one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners, has declared its opposition to the process. AFFI has joined the coalition to preserve the industry’s ability to continue to deliver products which will best satisfy customers. Through the Alliance, AFFI seeks to educate key audiences about the benefits and safety of biotechnology.
More information about The Alliance for Better Foods may be obtained from its Web site: www.betterfoods.org.
Elections and Appointments
• The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), Arlington, Va., named Joshua Caulfield, formerly director of marketing, to Director of New Media. Maria Ferrante has joined the association as Director of Technical Services. She was most recently managing editor of Food Engineering and Food Engineering International magazines.
• The Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM), Fairfax, Va., has elected the following officers for the 1999–2000 term: President—Vincent Gullo, Schering-Plough Research Institute, Kenilworth, N.J.; President-Elect—Kristien Mortelmans, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.; Past President—LaVerne Boeck, retired from Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, Ind.; Treasurer—Steve Nelson, Traders Protein, Memphis, Tenn; and Secretary—Ann Horan, Schering-Plough Research Institute.
• Richard Pisano Jr., Citrus and Allied Essences, Inc., Lake Success, N.Y., was recently elected President of the National Association of Fruits, Flavors and Syrups (NAFFS), Matawan, N.J. Other elected officers are: President-Elect—Richard Meer, Engineering & Management Consultants, Franklin Lakes, N.J.; Vice Presidents—Bob Vilim, Importers Service Corp., Jersey City, N.J. and Bill Leary, Tricon Colors LLC, Elmwood Park, N.J.; Treasurer—Craig Hagelin, Hagelin & Co., Branchburg, N.J.; and Secretary—Philip Parisi, David Michael & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
• The Association of Sales & Marketing Companies (ASMC), Reston, Va., has promoted Mark W. Baum to President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2000. Robert C. Schwarze, outgoing president and CEO, will assume the office of Senior Vice Chairman. Prior to joining ASMC, Baum served as Vice President, Sales for Retail Insights, a division of Progressive Grocer Associates. Earlier, he had been Manager, Operation Services, and later Director, Member Services, for Food Distributors International.
In addition, Peter Singer, president and CEO of Thomas, Large & Singer, Ontario, Canada, was elected Chairman of the 2000 Board of Directors of ASMC.
• Joan Walsh Cassedy was recently appointed Executive Director of ACIL, the association of independent testing, certification, and laboratory organizations. She succeeds Joseph O’Neil, who led ACIL, Washington, D.C., for two decades.
Cassedy comes to ACIL after five years as president and chief executive of King Publishing Group and King Communications Group, publishers of business information papers. Previously, she was chair and co-founder of The International Management Group, Inc., an award-winning association management company. She holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Hollins College, and attended the Political Science Institute of the Sorbonne, Paris, France.
• The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), McLean, Va., elected the following new officers for 1999–2000: Chairman of the Board—Kathleen Kelly Spear, Kraft Foods, Inc., Northfield, Ill.; First Vice Chairman—Rick Jacobson, Norpac Foods, Inc., Stayton, Ore.; Second Vice Chairman—Kelly W. Brown, Smith Frozen Foods, Inc.; and Immediate Past Chairman—George A. Franklin, Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, Mich.
• The Association for Dressings and Sauces, Atlanta, Ga., elected their officers for 2000 as follows: Chairman of the Board—Terry Plochman, Plochman, Inc.; Vice Chair East—Walton Clark, Lipton; Vice Chair Midwest—Wendell Christoff, Litehouse, Inc.; Vice Chair West—Peter DiBartolomeo, Ventura Foods, LLC; Vice Chair South—Larry Everett, Reily Foods; and Secretary/Treasurer—Webber Neal, Golden State Foods.
Company News in Brief
● ARBO Analogtechnik S.A. of Lugano, Switzerland, manufacturer of vibratory feeder technology, has changed its name to ARBO Systems S.A. The company’s North American subsidiary, ARBO Engineering Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, will not be affected by the name change.
● Cryopak Industries Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which through its subsidiary Cryopack Corp develops, manufactures and markets temperature controlling products and packing systems for perishable product transportation, has signed an agreement in principle to purchase Northland Ice-Gel Inc. and Northland Custom Packaging, Inc. Northland will provide additional sales channels to Cryopak through the addition of its gel and gel pack technology
● Fleetwood Systems, Romeoville, Ill., recently acquired by BWI plc, an international subsidiary of IWKA Aktiengessellschaft, Karlsruhe, Germany, sees some key management changes. Andy Moyden, formerly Fleetwood president, assumes the top job in Sales and Marketing for the Fleetwood container and closure handling systems product line, which will remain sited in the 122,000-sq-ft facility in Romeoville. The Jetstream products group, already a BWI division supplying conveying systems and specialty equipment, will also operate from this facility. Fleetwood Systems manufactures materials handling and conveying equipment for the can making, canning, and plastic bottle industries.
● Folexco, Montgomeryville, Pa., which acquired East Earth Herb, Eugene, Ore., in April 1999, announces a name change to A.M. Todd Botanicals. A.M. Todd Botanicals is an operating division of Zink and Triest, a member of the A.M. Todd Group of Companies, long known as a key supplier of flavor ingredients, botanicals, and customized seasoning products.
● Grünau Illertissen GmbH, Illertissen, Germany, has merged with the Cognis Group, now an independent subsidiary of Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany. The Grünau Nutrition Technology Division of Cognis identifies and develops significant new business opportunities anywhere in the world.
● The Kerry Group, Beloit, Wis., has agreed to purchase the SFI Group of specialty food ingredients businesses comprising Shade Foods Inc. in the United States and Specialty Food Ingredients (SFI) in Europe. The proposed acquisition, subject to approval and due diligence, is scheduled for completion by the end of December 1999.
● RFI Ingredients, Inc., Blauvelt, N.Y., recently added an applications laboratory to its Blauvelt offices and hired Naomi Goldberg as their Technical Manager. Goldberg may be reached via phone at 914-358-8600; fax 914-358-9003.
● Tenneco Packaging, Greenwich, Conn., has acquired Whitesell of Carolina, Inc.’s packaging assets. The new 67,000-sq-ft acquisition, located in High Point, N.C., produces a wide range of converted products including sheeting (industrial and agriculture), laminations (air cushioning, foam, etc.), and industrial pouches (for sizes ranging from faucets to furniture). Whitesell of Carolina, headquartered in Muscle Shoals, Ala., manufactures fasteners for a variety of industries.
● Tetra Pak Inc., the Swedish-owned aseptic packaging and processing company, recently opened its new, environmentally friendly U.S. headquarters in Vernon Hills, Ill. The 100,000-sq-ft building allows each employee a wooded view of the surrounding natural environment.
In Memoriam
Charles A. Becker, Emeritus Member. Died October 16, 1999, in Kirkwood, Mo. He was 74.
Becker earned his B.S. in general agriculture and M.S. in dairy science nutrition from the University of Florida at Gainesville, then worked toward a doctoral degree from Michigan State University, East Lansing. He spent his career in industry, eventually retiring in 1996 as President of Roland Industries, Inc., St. Louis, Mo., a company which he joined in 1977 as Vice President and Manager of the Specialty Foods Division. He was well respected for his business perception and was considered an effective leader in quality assurance, product development, and marketing.
Also a tireless and effective leader in IFT, which he joined in 1960, his service began at the section level when he served the Mohawk Valley Section as Treasurer, Chair, and Councilor (1960–64) and the St. Louis Section as Chair and Councilor (1968–89). He was also a Section Advisor, Historian, and a member of the St. Louis Section’s Program Planning Committee.
The length, continuity, and effectiveness of his years of service to IFT is also evident at the national level. In 1969, he was appointed to IFT’s national Membership Committee and he later was involved as member or chair on many other committees, including Awards, Council Policy, Finance Subcommittee (15 years), IFT Foundation Board, Long-Range Planning Subcommittee, Prescott Awards Jury, IFT Annual Meeting Site Selection Committee, and two terms on the IFT Executive Committee (1983–86; 1989–92). From 1990 to 1992, he was a member of the IFTEC Steering Committee. He also served IFT as Assistant Treasurer for three years and Treasurer for four years. In addition to these activities, Becker was active in the American Association of Cereal Chemists, where he served as a member of the Board of Directors (1983–86) and Chair of AACC’s Milling & Baking Division (1983–84).
Becker was named an IFT Fellow in 1988 and recipient of IFT’s Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award in 1995.
Marvin A. Tung, Professional Member of IFT, died suddenly November 5, 1999, while attending a conference in Dallas, Tex. He was 61.
Tung was NSERC/George Weston Industrial Research Chair of Food Packaging Technology at the University of Guelph, Ont., Canada. He was considered an innovative researcher and a skilled teacher and was known for his research and training efforts in thermal processing, particularly steam/air processing, and of hermetically packaged foods, including retort pouches. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1970, Tung taught there prior to becoming Head of the Department of Food Science and Technology and Director of the Canadian Institute of Fisheries Technology at the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Halifax, his position before joining the Guelph faculty in 1994.
His work was particularly creative in applying principles of rheology to understanding interactions among components in food dispersions such as polymer-thickened solutions, food emulsions, and gels. He also developed a method to test for adequate and uniform heat transfer in specially designed retort packages. Results of this research have been published in numerous refereed research papers and 20 book chapters. Under his direction at the Technical University of Nova Scotia, the Department of Food Science doubled the annual value of research grants and contracts, triple the average level for all food science faculty members in Canada.
He served as President of the Council of Canadian University Food Science Administrators from 1990 to 1994, and had been President and Chairman of the 400-member Institute for Thermal Processing Specialists since 1986. His contributions since joining IFT in 1970 include service as Chair, Councilor, or committee member of the Food Engineering Division, Food Packaging Division, and the British Columbia Section. He served on numerous committees at the national level as well, most recently as 1997–98 Chair of the IFT Constitution and By-Laws Committee.
He has also served as the Canadian liaison to IFT, held office in the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, and served as Associate Editor of the CIFST Journal. Tung was named a CIFST Fellow in 1991, an IFT Fellow in 1996, and a Certified Packaging Professional by the Institute of Packaging Professionals in 1992. In July 1999, he received the Riester-Davis Award, sponsored by the IFT Food Packaging Division.
Donations may be made to the Marvin A. Tung Bursary Fund, c/o Development Office, 6253 N.W. Marine Drive, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z1, Canada.
Herbert V. Shuster, formerly a Professional Member of IFT, died September 20, 1999, in Quincy, Mass. He was 75.
After earning his Ph.D. in food technology in 1953 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shuster joined MIT’s teaching staff until he opened his own laboratory, Herbert V. Shuster, Inc., in 1955. In this venture, he gave small- to medium-size food manufacturers a competitive edge by raising their quality standards and product uniformity, sometimes helping them to launch innovative products.
In raising the bar on new product formulations, food preservation, engineering products processes, packaging refinements, new plant layouts, and chemical and bacteriological food analysis, Shuster was recognized early on as a pioneer and quality innovator. In 1961, he became a director of the newly established Staff Quality Kitchens in Boston, working with a 17-member retailer buying group based in Chicago. At that time, quality testing and control of private label products for supermarket retailers, who were not manufacturers, was rare. He was considered a pioneer in this area, encouraging other retailers to commit to private label quality assurance. He was instrumental in founding the Private Label Manufacturing Association in 1979, a year in which he also helped launch the industry’s first trade publication, Private Label magazine. As an “industry guru,” Shuster has been credited with helping to define today’s standards of quality in the private label industry. In 1995, his company was acquired by Hauser Inc., a Boulder, Colo., natural products producer. Hauser operates its new division, Shuster Labs, independently.
Shuster joined IFT about 1955 and remained a Professional Member until 1994.
Robert G. Switzer, Emeritus Charter Member. Died July 25, 1999, at Fayetteville, Ark., age 86.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Switzer specialized in plant breeding and the improvement and testing of cucumber varieties. During his graduate work in bacteriology and food technology, he helped establish the first food laboratory at Michigan State.
During the more than 50 years he spent in the food industry, Switzer was responsible for research and development, quality control, scientific/technical research and management, and plant management—mainly in pickles, peppers, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, catsup, and other tomato products. One of the products he helped pioneer is dill quickies, or fresh pack dill, which resulted in more than ten manufacturers obtaining their procedures or formulas for this product from him. He also developed whole sweet pickles made from fresh cucumbers.
While employed by Aunt Jane’s Pickle Company in Georgia and Michigan, he devised in 1944 an efficient method of making sweet relish and personally supervised the manufacture of one-half million gallons in just 100 days for the company. Other employment included Atkins Pickle Company, Atkins, Ark. (1948-1967); Dreher Company, Albuquerque, N.M. and Denver, Colo. (1967-1969); and Western Foods, La Junta, Colo. (1969-1984), where he was in charge of quality control. After retirement, he consulted for Talk o’Texas Brands, Inc., San Angelo, Tex., from 1984 to 1997. During this same period, he was a volunteer executive for International Executive Service Corps in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Barbados.
Switzer joined IFT as a Charter Member in 1939. He was also a member of the Ozark Section.
Lillian Tendayi Marovatsanga, recently elected President of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), died October 19, 1999, in Harare, Zimbabwe. She was 43.
Marovatsanga was considered a driving force in furthering the cause of food science and technology internationally by working tirelessly to promote food science for the betterment of those less fortunate. She was pivotal in bringing Africa into the international food science community, arranging workshops on health issues and seminars on food security for the benefit of those around her. The IUFoST Budapest Declaration exemplifies her work toward a world where “access to nutritionally adequate and safe food is the right of every individual.”
From 1993, Marotvasanga was head of the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Family Sciences Institute in Harare, and also Director for the East, Central and Southern Africa Maternal and Child Nutrition Training Program which gathered participants from all of Africa. She initiated the first regional B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Zimbabwe and established links with many institutions worldwide for collaborative research as well as student and faculty exchange. Among her numerous accomplishments, she co-founded the Zimbabwe Society of Food Science and Technology and organized the first regional conference on Food Security, Safety and Quality at which the IUFoST regional association of food scientists, ECSAFoST, was launched.
Marotvasanga had been a Member of IFT between 1989 and 1995.
by BETSY BAIRD
Assistant Editor