Official Post-Show Coverage

Ten professional members were honored as Fellows of the Institute of Food Technologists at the Opening Event of IFT’s Annual Meeting on June 15 in Anaheim, Calif.

Fellow is a unique professional distinction conferred on individuals with outstanding and extraordinary qualifications and experience for their contributions in food science and technology. They must have been an IFT Member for 15 years and a Professional Member at the time of nomination. If a nominee is an IFT Professional Member from outside the United States, the 15-year Member requirement may be waived by the Awards Committee.

IFT has conferred the Fellow designation on a select number of Professional Members every year since 1970. Biographical sketches of the 2002 Fellows are presented below.

Christine M. Bruhn, Director, Center for Consumer Research, University of California–Davis, was recognized as a leader in helping scientists, processors, and consumers understand food-processing issues. She is also a dedicated and active leader within IFT.

Throughout her career, Bruhn has authored more than 95 peer-reviewed journal articles or chapters in texts and is invited to give 30–50 presentations annually. Whether the topic is biotechnology, food safety, or consumer attitudes, in every case she places the newest material essential to the future of the food industry before the ultimate users.

She has received a number of awards, including the R.E. Engel Award for outstanding contribution and dedication to food irradiation and the International Association for Food Protection Certificate of Merit, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. She has also served as a consultant to a number of national and international bodies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, and the American Dietetic Association.

An active member of IFT, Bruhn has served as Chair of the Food Science Communicators Committee, Task Force on Communicating Advocacy Positions, and Annual Meeting Technical Presentations Subcommittee, and is the 2003 Chair Designate for the Annual Meeting Committee. She has also served on the Chief Research Officers Committee, the Committee on Science, Communication, and Government Relations, and the Biotech Issues Task Force.

Bruhn has been active in the Extension, Nutrition, and Biotechnology Divisions as well, where she has served in a number of leadership roles. She is also a member of the Southern California and Northern California Sections. She has been an IFT Scientific Lecturer and has won IFT awards for Outstanding Performance as a Food Science Communicator and Outstanding Performance as a Regional Communicator.

Robert L. Buchanan, Senior Science Advisor, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C., was honored for outstanding national and international contributions to the microbiological safety of foods as a researcher, manager, and regulator.

Buchanan is a recognized national and international authority in the field of food safety microbiology. While at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, he did pioneering work on microbial growth modeling and developed the USDA Pathogen Modeling Program (PMP), now in its fifth release as a Windows-based program. The PMP is a valuable resource that can provide good first estimates of pathogen behavior in foods for both the food industry and the regulatory agencies. It is also a valuable teaching aid in describing the effects of multiple factors on the behavior of foodborne pathogens. Using the PMP as a starting point, he initiated the use of risk assessment as part of a HACCP-based food safety evaluation of food production and processing operations.

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Buchanan also organized the First International Symposium on Microbial Growth Modeling. He has given invited presentations at various national and international meetings. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 research publications, book chapters, review articles, and published abstracts on various subjects related to food safety microbiology and toxicology.

Buchanan has been a member of the boards of editors for a number of scientific journals, including the Journal of Food Safety and the Journal of Food Protection. He has served on a number of scientific committees, including the U.S. Delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Food Hygiene Committee, which he headed. He has received a number of awards, including the North Carolina State University Escher Lectureship Award for Outstanding Contributions to Food Microbiology, USDA Superior Service Award, ARS Outstanding Senior Scientist of the Year Award, University of Wisconsin Fraiser Memorial Lectureship Award for Outstanding Contributions to Food Microbiology, and IFT’s Jules Bauermann Lectureship Award for Outstanding Contributions to Food Microbiology. He is also an eight-time recipient of the USDA Certificate of Merit for Research and Research Management and a four-time recipient of the FDA Certificate of Merit for Research Management.

An active member of IFT, he has organized symposia for the IFT Annual Meeting and participated in symposia as an invited speaker. He is also a member of the Food Microbiology Division’s Executive Committee.

Charles L. Duncan, retired Vice President, Research & Development, Hershey Foods Corp., Hershey, Pa., was recognized for his 35-year career in the field of food science and technology in industry and academia.

From 1966 to l977, Duncan was a Professor in the Dept. of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin and a member of the university’s Food Research Institute. During his time there, he received a five-year National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award and published more than 70 scientific publications relating to the causative factors associated with Clostridium perfringens food poisoning in peer-reviewed journals, which contributed greatly to the current understanding of the issue. In addition to teaching, he guided the research programs of several masters, Ph.D., and post-doctoral students.

Duncan moved on to Campbell Soup Co., where he served first as Director of Food Safety & Nutrition, and then as Vice President of Food Science & Technology. He was responsible for research programs that supported new products, technology development, manufacturing plants, and advertising claims. He was also instrumental in establishing Campbell’s biotechnology program on tomatoes.

Duncan later became Vice President, Research & Development at Hershey Foods Corp. and served the company for 20 years until his retirement in January. While there, he built a world-class R&D organization that was involved in the commercialization of more than 200 new products and 62 patents. This involved developing expertise from the ground up in chocolate technology, non-chocolate technology, refrigerated desserts, gum and mint technology, baking technology, and functional confectionery.

Committed to food science education, Duncan has served as Chairman of the American Cocoa Research Institute’s Scientific Committee in promoting, establishing, and seeking industrial funding of the endowed Molecular Biology Program in Cacao at Pennsylvania State University. He served as Chairperson of the Government Liaison Subcommittee of the Food Industry Executives Committee for the Penn State Dept. of Food Science and was successful in helping to obtain $12 million to help fund a new Food Science Building for the department. He has also served on industrial boards of a number of universities.

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He has also been an active member of a number of scientific organizations, including the International Life Sciences Institute. In 2001, he received the W.C. Frazier Memorial Lecture Award from the Food Research Institute of the University of Wisconsin for outstanding contributions in the field of food microbiology.

An active member of IFT since 1977, Duncan has served on the IFT Education Committee and the Research Committee. He also served as the Legislative Liaison Coordinator for the Philadelphia Section. While at Hershey Foods, he was instrumental in reviving the Keystone Regional Subsection by organizing representatives from all businesses in central Pennsylvania to champion and support the subsection when it appeared about to disband. As a result of this strong regional support, the subsection later obtained Section status.

Susan K. Harlander, President, BIOrational Consultants Inc., New Brighton, Minn., was recognized for her pioneering efforts in biotechnology research, teaching, and public outreach. She was also recognized for providing technical leadership to the food industry, advice to government agencies, and service to IFT.

Harlander is an internationally recognized pioneer and leader in food agricultural biotechnology who has made significant contributions to food science for more than 20 years. She is widely published and an accomplished lecturer, public speaker, research director, and organizational leader.

During the 10 years she spent with the Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, Harlander developed and directed research programs in genetic improvement of dairy starter cultures, plant tissue culture for production of natural food ingredients, and DNA fingerprinting and epidemiological tracking of foodborne pathogens. She also spent nine years in the food industry, where she was responsible for research and product development at Land O’Lakes and the Green Giant Division of The Pillsbury Co.

Throughout her career, Harlander has served on numerous government advisory committees, including USDA’s National Agricultural Research, Education, Extension, and Economics Advisory Committee, FDA’s CFSAN Food Advisory Committee, National Research Council’s Board on Agriculture, and USDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Research Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Paradigm Genetics, Inc. and AgInsight.

An active member of IFT, Harlander has served on the Executive Committee (Member Representative 1990–93), IFT Foundation Board, Finance Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Governance, Committee on Research, Annual Meeting Hot Topics Symposium Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on the Annual Meeting, 50th Anniversary Membership Affairs Committee, Calvert L. Willey Award Committee (Chairperson 2000), Marcel Loncin Research Prize Panel, and Strategic Plan Task Force.

She is a Charter Member of the Biotechnology Division and was responsible for drafting its by-laws. She has served the Division as Secretary and Executive Committee Member. She is also a frequent speaker at the Division’s symposia at the IFT Annual Meeting.

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An active member of the Minnesota Section as well, Harlander has served as Councilor (1989–92), Alternate Councilor (1992–94), Nominations Committee Member (1992–95), Membership and Publicity Committee Chair (1985), and Harold Macy Food Science and Technology Award Committee Chair (1986).

Joseph H. Hotchkiss, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Food Science, Cornell University, Institute of Food Science, Ithaca, N.Y., was honored for bridging the gap between university research and industry needs, as well as his pioneering efforts in reduced-oxygen packaging of low-acid foods, active packaging, and use of carbon dioxide to extend fresh-cheese shelf life.

Hotchkiss’ scientific expertise is widely recognized within the food industry, academia, associations, and government agencies. He has numerous publications to his credit and has edited, authored, or coauthored a number of texts, including Food and Packaging Interactions, Food and Packaging Interactions II, and Food Science, 5th Edition. Hotchkiss is also an in-demand speaker for an audience that ranges from Basic Symposium attendees, applied trade commodity groups, consumer groups, and international associations, to the general public.

Throughout his career, Hotchkiss has received a number of awards, including the American Chemical Society’s 700 Club Book Award and Platinum Book Award, the ASTM Faculty Internship Award, and the New York State Association of Milk and Food Sanitarians’ William V. Hickey Award. He is an editorial board member on a number of journals, including the Journal of Food Protection, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, and Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.

Hotchkiss has also served on a number of advisory panels and committees, including the FDA Expert Committee on Nitrites, Nitrates, and N-nitroso Compounds, National Academy of Sciences Food Chemicals Codex Committee, WHO/FAO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, and the USDA Commissioner’s National Food Advisory Committee. He has also served as an FDA Science Advisor and a consultant to the U.S. Army Engineering Command (Natick Labs) Food Engineering Directorate.

An active member of IFT, Hotchkiss has served on the New Products & Technologies Subcommittee and the Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition and has been an IFT Scientific Lecturer. He is also active in the Toxicology & Safety Evaluation Division, where he has served as Chair and been an Executive Committee Member, and the Packaging Division, where he has served on the Executive Committee and organized symposia. He is also an active member of the New York Section, where he has served as Program Chair, Chair, and Councilor.

Mark R. McLellan, Director and Professor, Institute of Food Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex., was recognized for being an administrative leader in food science and fruit and vegetable processing technology research, with emphasis on computer applications for the food industry.

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A recognized expert in the use of processing technologies for fruits and vegetables, McLellan has developed improvements in processing systems for fruit juices and other beverages. Although he specializes in juice and liquid food products, he has also worked in the puree, dried product, fresh storage, and packaging fields. He has published on such topics as packaging studies, methods in sensory analysis, ultrafiltration technology, freezing point depression, and others. As an outgrowth of his technology assessment work, he has also become an expert in the area of computer technology and applications for the food industry.

In addition to his academic work, McLellan has been involved in a number of professional organizations. He was a founder of the Council of Food Science Administrators, which represents all food science programs across the country, and he served as the council’s Chair in 1998. He is also active in the American Frozen Food Institute, Sigma Xi, and the Instrument Society of America. 

Since joining IFT in 1976, McLellan has served on a number of committees, including the Executive Committee, Scientific Lectureship Committee, ad hoc Committee on Information/Communication Systems, Information Systems Subcommittee, and ad hoc Committee on Publications. He has also been a Food Science Communicator and an IFT Scientific Lecturer. Next month, he will take office as President of IFT for 2002–03.

An active Section and Division member, McLellan has served on the Executive Committees of the Food Engineering Division and the Fruit & Vegetable Products Division, where he also served as Chair. He served as Chair and Councilor of the Western New York Section and Chair of the Western New York Food Industry Expo. Now a member of the Texas Section, he has served as Chairman of the section’s Food Industry Expo. 

David B. Min, Professor, Lipid and Flavor Chemistry, Dept. of Food Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, was honored for his research in improving the flavor and stability of food. His public service and international leadership inspires professionals in the food industry and the field of food science.

Min is a recognized pioneer in lipid research, particularly research on singlet oxygen oxidation in foods. His academic research has provided a foundation for current understanding of reversion flavor, an undesirable “beany” flavor that develops in soybean oil and soy products during processing and storage. His research group discovered that undesirable flavor compounds are formed by singlet oxygen oxidation of linoleic and linolenic acids in the presence of chlorophyll and light. As a result of his research, major food companies improved the oxidative stability of edible oils, frying oils, and other foods, improving the flavor, shelf life, and economics of many products.

Min has published 215 scientific papers in recognized journals and presented more than 115 invited papers and seminars nationally and internationally. He edited or co-edited Flavor Chemistry of Fats and Oils, Flavor Chemistry of Lipid Foods, Food Lipids and Health, Lipid Chemistry, and Advances in Food Lipid Chemistry.

He has served as Scientific Editor of the Journal of Food Science and on the editorial boards of a number of other journals and publishing companies. He has served on a number of IFT committees, including the Awards Jury, Annual Meeting Program Committee, Basic Symposium Committee (Chair), and Junior and Senior Scholarship Jury (Chair). He is active in the Food Chemistry and Education Divisions as an officer and was also President and Program Chair of the Ohio Valley Section. He has received a number of awards, including the1995 IFT Steven S. Chang Award and the 2001 IFT Food Chemistry Lectureship Award.

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Brian W. Raines, Director of Science, FACT Inc., was recognized for his work in the packaged goods industry, where his leadership in research and development has led to technological changes, innovative new food products, and improved quality of life.

Raines has made many contributions to food science and technology relating to industry, regulatory affairs, and student education. Before taking his current consulting position, he served as Vice President, Technical Services at T.J. Lipton, Unilever Canada, Inc., until he retired in 1998. He was also Technical Director for Lawry’s Foods Inc. and Technical Services Manager for Mars, Inc. His industry contributions include new products and processes, including incorporation of stabilizers into high-fat/low-moisture systems, high-speed filling machine net-weight control, and introduction of HACCP as a safety process and ISO 9000 certification to manufacturing facilities.

His regulatory contributions include investigation of the use of irradiation of spices, nutrition labeling, including trans fatty acids, allergens, and health claims. Raines was also responsible for establishing industry/university co-op programs in California, Guelph, and Toronto.

An active member of IFT, Raines has served on the Scientific Lectureship Committee (Chair), Committee for Global Interests, Committee on Nominations and Elections, Annual Planning Subcommittee, and the Functional Foods Task Force. He also served as the IFT Liaison to the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, where he has served as President (1997–98) and was elected a Fellow in 2000.

Raines has also been active in the Southern California and Western new York Sections, as well as the Quality Assurance Division, where he served as Chair and Councilor. He also received the Division’s Distinguished Service Award in 1992.

Barry G. Swanson, Professor, Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., was honored for a career of excellence in teaching, research, and extension/service. His extensive processing research achievements and service to IFT have resulted in an improved understanding of food science by professionals and the general public.

Swanson’s research has ranged from studies of legume protein digestibility and storage quality to patulin and mycotoxins in foods. He has also made contributions in the fields of pesticide residues on foods, nutrient retention in potato products, and lectins in common beans. His work on sucrose fatty acid polyesters led to extensive research on syntheses of fat substitutes and methods to improve the quality of reduced fat cheeses. He collaborated with many other researchers on substantial fundamental research on microbial inactivation and quality of foods treated with high-intensity pulsed electric fields and high hydrostatic pressures.

His current research focuses on implementing ultra-high pressures to improve cheese yield, attenuate adjunct cultures to accelerate aging and improve the flavor of Cheddar cheeses, and improve the hydrophobic functional properties of whey proteins. He was recognized with the 2001 Washington State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics Faculty Excellence in Research Award. He has authored or co-authored more than 170 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and contributed more than 30 peer-reviewed book chapters.

Swanson’s advisory work and teaching efforts in food processing and food chemistry are well-received by his undergraduate and graduate students. He has been nominated twice by students in the WSU Food Science Club for the R.M. Wade Award for Excellence in Teaching.

An active member of IFT since 1968, Swanson has served as a Food Science Communicator and IFT Scientific Lecturer. He also chaired the Committee on Education, Committee on Research, and Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition. He is active in the Fruit & Vegetable Products, Toxicology & Safety Evaluation, Extension, Food Engineering, Food Chemistry, and Nonthermal Food Processing Divisions. Active in the Lewis and Clark Section as well, Swanson has held each of the officer positions.

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Katherine M.J. Swanson, Director, Quality and Regulatory Operations, Yoplait–Colombo for General Mills., St. Paul, Minn., was honored for outstanding leadership in advancing food safety through designing and communicating innovative and effective programs which continue successfully to fulfill consumer, regulatory, and food industry needs.

Although much of her work in the past 20 years has been in an industrial setting and involved proprietary research and quality management, her efforts outside the private sector demonstrate the originality, effectiveness, and quality of her contributions. Prior to her current position, Swanson was Director, Microbiology & Food Safety at The Pillsbury Co. She was also Senior Microbiologist at The 3M Co. and an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.

Swanson recently served on an FDA/IFT Panel of Experts that addressed the safety and regulation of foods classified as Potentially Hazardous Foods. She has also been asked to serve as a Permanent Member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods. In each instance, she was identified as one of a few experts worldwide who could critically assess the plethora of material, produce constructive criticisms, and deliver reports that communicated with great originality. She also has a great many publications, patents, and presentations to her credit.

Swanson has also been active in the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the International Life Sciences Institute’s Food Microbiology Research Conference and Food Microbiology Technical Committee. She also served as Chair of the American Frozen Foods Institute’s Food Safety Committee and is the current Chair of the National Food Processors Association’s Microbiology and Food Safety Committee.

An active member of IFT, Swanson has served on the Committee on Nominations and Elections, the Organizing Committee for IFT’s first International Food Safety & Quality Conference, and the Graduate Fellowship Jury, and has served as Graduate Research Paper Competition Judge. She was also an IFT Scientific Lecturer.

Swanson has served as Chair of both the Food Microbiology Division and the Minnesota Section. She received the Minnesota Section’s Chair’s Award in 1997.

Deadline for receipt of nominations for 2003 Fellows is February 1, 2003. Nomination forms are available from Patti Pagliuco, Institute of Food Technologists, 525 W. Van Buren, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60607 (e-mail [email protected]) or via the IFT Web site at www.ift.org/awards/fellows/nomination.shtml.