IFT WORLD
Registration for the 2008 IFT Annual Meeting and Food ExpoSM, June 28 - July 1, in New Orleans, La., is open. Join thousands of food professionals from around the world to network with peers and receive up-to-date information about the latest scientific developments.
Hundreds of suppliers will be on hand to showcase the newest ingredients, products, and services at the IFT Food Expo. Specialty and trend pavilions will provide exhibitors an opportunity to showcase similar products and services under one roof and to deliver educational forums and presentations that focus on trends, tastings, and the global marketplace.
IFT's Knowledge and Learning Center is offering several pre-meeting short courses that will cover a wide range of topics.
For those seeking to explore job opportunities, IFT's Employment Bureau is the premier industry recruiting event, where leading employers and food science professionals meet and interview on-site.
Annual Meeting attendees look to IFT's Scientific Program as a foundation for making informed decisions about the development and marketing of foods. They also rely on the scientific program to keep current on the marketing, sales, development, safety, quality, packaging, and nutrient value of foods. IFT is the leading provider of food science research, with thousands of participants attending more than 100 sessions. A number of sessions on the theme, "Driving Growth and Sustainability Through Innovation," will be offered as part of the Scientific Program.
Many more events will be scheduled to provide the most up-to-date information about the food industry. For more information, visit www.ift.org/ift08.
Enter the Food Expo Innovation Awards
If your company is exhibiting at the 2008 IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans, please submit your entry for the 2008 Food Expo Innovation Awards. The deadline to submit applications for the awards program is April 4, 2008.
Food-related products, ingredients, technologies, instrumentation, equipment, and services commercially introduced since Jan. 1, 2007, are eligible, as are new applications of existing products and services commercially introduced since Jan. 1, 2007. There is no charge for entering, and you may submit more than one entry. Qualifying entries will be reviewed by an independent, expert panel of judges. Winning entries will be announced and awarded prior to the opening of the Food Expo exhibit floor. For more information, please visit www.am-e.ift.org.
Your vote counts in the IFT Leadership Election
The deadline for the 2008 IFT Leadership Election, which is being conducted electronically, is April 10, 2008.
In the online election, IFT members will choose the President-Elect, board members, and nominees for the Nominations and Elections Committee. During the election, IFT members can cast their ballots electronically from any Internet-accessible computer worldwide. To vote using the online process, members will visit a secure Web site that contains background information on all of the candidates.
Access will be restricted by a required login, username, and password. Confidential votes will be tabulated automatically by an outside consultant, and a report of the results will be issued by IFT shortly after the close of the election.
Election information, bios for the candidates, and tips for voting are available at www.ift.org/election.
Please forward any questions about the slate, petition process, or the online elections to Heather Lang, staff liaison to the Nominations and Elections Committee, at [email protected].
Davidson to lead department
Michael Davidson, a professor in the University of Tennessee Dept. of Food Science, has been appointed head of the department.
His appointment was effective in January, but he has been serving as interim head of the department since October 2005.
Davidson said that his goals are to continue to raise the profile of the department's research and outreach efforts while attracting talented students. A microbiologist who specializes in food safety, Davidson has specifically studied antimicrobials to combat well-known bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria.
Davidson is a Professional Member of IFT.
Deibel wins AMI award
Robert J. Deibel has won the American Meat Institute Foundation Scientific Achievement Award for his more than 50 years of service to the industry as an educator and scientist.
Deibel, President and CEO of Deibel Laboratories, Lincolnwood, Ill., has worked as Chief of the Bacteriology Division for AMI, a professor at Cornell University, and a professor and Chairman of the Dept. of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin.
Throughout his career, he has worked with food businesses nationwide on spoilage and food safety issues. Today, he owns and operates eight laboratories across the United States and Canada.
He is a Professional Member of IFT.
Chromsys hires Watts
Vivian Watts recently joined Chromsys LLC, Alexandria, Va., as Application Chemist. His responsibilities include developing analytical methods for the company's customer base as well as installing and servicing gas chromatographic and mass spectral instruments.
Prior to this, Watts was a chemist at KWV, one of the largest wine and spirits producers in South Africa, where he helped develop, optimize, and validate analytical methods; contributed to the improvement of brandy production techniques; and used multivariate analysis software to investigate parameters that correlate with wine and brandy quality and price.
Watts is a Member of IFT.
Shoemaker wins Friendship Award
Charles Shoemaker recently won the Friendship Award, China's highest award for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China's economic and social progress.
Shoemaker, a Professional Member of IFT, is a professor in the Dept. of Food Science & Technology at University of California - Davis, where he develops new measurement techniques that will provide information on the nature of fundamental chemical interactions of constituents and their effect on the overall texture of foods.
Since its inception in 1991, 949 experts from 56 countries have received the award.
Doyle joins board
The Food and Drug Administration has named Michael Doyle to the board of the Reagan-Udall Foundation, a private and independent nonprofit organization that will advance FDA's mission to modernize food, food ingredient, veterinary, medical, and cosmetic product development; accelerate innovation; and enhance product safety.
Doyle, a Professional Member of IFT, is Regents Professor and Director of the Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia.