IFT WORLD
Congratulations to the following individuals who won the 2009 IFT National Leadership Election: Bob Gravani, President-Elect; Catherine Adams, P. Michael Davidson, Justin Shimek, and Barry Swanson, Board of Directors; and Amanda Lathrop, Nancy Nagle, and S. Suzanne Nielson, Nominations & Elections Committee members. They will take office on Sept. 1, 2009.
The 2009 IFT National Leadership Election was held Feb. 12–March 13, 2009.
We appreciate all of our candidates’ involvement in this election during such an exciting time for IFT.
Fisher joins IFT
William Fisher has been named IFT’s new Vice President of Science and Policy Initiatives.
A seasoned executive, Fisher brings a mix of food science, public policy, and business expertise to IFT. His extensive food industry background includes experience in regulatory affairs, packaged foods, foodservice, and public health and safety. Most recently, Fisher was Vice President at NSF International, an independent, not-for-profit organization that develops standards and certifies food, water, and consumer goods. In that role, he was responsible for regulatory affairs and association programs and overall integrated marketing communications for this global provider of public health and risk management solutions. Under his leadership, NSF expanded its presence with a range of government officials, NGOs, allied organizations, and the media.
Prior to NSF, Fisher was President of Choice Picks, a restaurant holdings company, where he had responsibility for overall executive management of two restaurant chains. He also was Vice President of Technical Business Development for Hardee’s Food Systems.
Fisher received both his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Illinois with a focus on agriculture and nutrition.
FONA expands workforce
FONA International, Geneva, Ill., has hired several new employees and promoted others within the organization.
Katie Ellspermann joins the company as Account Manager, and she will be responsible for the project management process and will serve the product development needs of one of FONA’s strategic accounts. She is a Member of IFT.
Atul Khare has been named Director of Customer Innovation & Technology Strategy. He will develop technology strategy and support development of new technologies to better serve customers. He is a Member of IFT.
The company’s newest Sr. Application Technologist—Dry Beverage is Beata Rajkiewicz-Zaro. She will develop dry beverage prototypes and flavored dry mix beverage applications. She is a Member of IFT.
The company promoted Becky Wagner to the position of Business Unit Manager—Emerging Markets. She joined FONA in 2006 and will lead the Emerging Markets team as it works to meet customers’ flavor creation, application support, and marketing needs. She is a Professional Member of IFT.
Finally, the company announced that Lindsay Mahon has earned the title Junior Flavor Chemist. She completed a five-year apprenticeship and passed the Society of Flavor Chemists test several months ago. Mahon, a Member of IFT, joined FONA in 2002.
GPC promotes Eads
Grain Processing Corp., Muscatine, Iowa, has promoted Angie Eads to Director of Technical Service for the Food, Pharmaceutical, and Personal Care Products Group.
Eads, a Member of IFT, joined the company in 1999 as a quality control chemist and most recently held the position of Research Scientist. She received her Ph.D. degree in food chemistry from Purdue University.
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Silva is new ADM sales manager
Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s Specialty Food Ingredients business unit has named Pedro Silva Regional Sales Manager for Latin America.
Managing customer accounts in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, Silva will work with food manufacturers to promote the company’s line of specialty food ingredients with a focus on soy proteins for meat and dairy applications.
Silva brings 12 years of experience in the food industry to ADM. He earned a B.S. degree in food science and technology, and an M.S. degree in food science from Mississippi State University. He is a Member of IFT.
Friedman to lead Frutarom USA
Frutarom Ltd., Haifa, Israel, has named Rafi Friedman President of Frutarom USA Inc. Prior to joining Frutarom, Friedman worked at Makhteshim Agan Group where he served as Vice President, Finance and Operations of the company’s American subsidiary. He also worked for Strauss Group.
His responsibilities include managing the American territory of Frutarom’s businesses while preparing a foundation to significantly increase the company’s activities in the Americas and to implement acquisitions.
Friedman, a Member of IFT, studied economics and accounting at Haifa University, and completed a senior management program at Technion Institute of Management in Israel.
Shah wins dairy science award
Nagendra P. Shah, a professor at Victoria University, has won the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of dairy science.
A renowned specialist in the use of probiotic bacteria in foods, Shah serves as Editor of International Journal of Dairy Science and on the editorial boards of numerous journals. He has co-edited a book on dairy products and quality control and has authored or co-authored numerous papers, book chapters, and conference proceedings.
“Awards like this encourage scientists and academics to carry out innovative research in dairy science of commercial significance,” said Shah, a Professional Member of IFT. “My work on Mozzarella cheese, which uses a number of innovative approaches to reduce fat content while retaining similar functionalities as a full-fat Mozzarella, is a good example. I am thankful to my family for their support and to my colleagues who presented me as a candidate."
Established in 2004, the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award was created to recognize individuals who, through their accomplishments in research and development in the field of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, technology, nutrition, and/or engineering, have made a significant contribution to dairy science and the betterment of the dairy industry and consumers. The award is named for William C. Haines, former Vice President of Product Innovation for Dairy Management Inc., and an Emeritus Member of IFT. The California Dairy Research Foundation presented Shah with the award.
Gold Coast names new sales rep
Gold Coast Ingredients, Commerce, Calif., has named Toni Gitter Technical Sales Representative.
For 20 years, Gitter has worked primarily in product development for ingredient manufacturers, including BakeMark USA and SunOpta. There she used her skills and knowledge of ingredients and processes to develop products for the baking and dairy industries.
Gitter is a Professional Member of IFT.
Grain Processing promotes Wang
Lin Wang was recently promoted to Group Leader, Food Science New Product Development at Grain Processing Corp., Muscatine, Iowa.
Wang, a Member of IFT, joined the company in 1998 as an applications research chemist and has worked in product development. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in crop science and agronomy from Henan Agricultural University in China, and a Ph.D. degree in cereal chemistry at Kansas State University.
Section & Division meetings
Maryland
June 23: Golf outing. Location: Renditions Golf Course, Davidsonville, Md. Contact Toni Manning at 410-712-7373 or [email protected].
Visit www.ift.org to view the Events Calendar, including listings for Section and Division meetings, and for information on how to list your event.