Capital Voices Official Newsletter of the Washington DC Section Institute of Food Technologists Volume 10               September 1998              Number 2

Table of Contents

• October Meetings
• Functional Foods: Fiction, Fad or the Future?
• A Message from the Co-Chairs
• From IFT Voices, a report of the IFT Science Communications Dept.
• USDA Symposium on Childhood Obesity
• Play Golf?
• Washington Academy of Sciences
• Meeting Announcement

Back Issues

October Meetings

Yes that's right, we have two meetings this month, both addressing the issue of functional foods. The first is a videoconference, on October 6, that will feature Bruce Stillings, IFT president. The second will be held on October 22, and will feature Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders, IFT Scientific Lecturer on functional foods.

AFunctional Foods: Fiction, Fad or the Future? A

A special IFT videoconference will be held on October 6 at 8.00 pm, at Shugoll Research Inc. in Bethesda, to discuss functional foods and nutracuticals. Speakers include Bruce Stillings, IFT president, Dr. Mike Pariza, University of Wisconsin and Frederick Degnan, Partner, King and Spalding. At the end there will be an opportunity for an interactive question and answer session. We recommend that you take the opportunity to attend this videoconference

DCIFT will be hosting a meeting on October 22nd at 2:30pm, at NFPA's new location, 1350 I St., that will feature Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders, who is the IFT Scientific Lecturer on Functional Foods. Dr. Sanders is a consultant for her business, Dairy and Food Culture Technologies, specializing in the areas of clinical and microbiological attributes of probiotic cultures, microbial biotechnology and dairy starter culture microbiology. She is also an adjunct Research Professor at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo where she is overseeing a research project on in vitro evaluations of commercial probiotic lactobacilli. Her presentation will be titled "Current market potential for probiotic-containing products in the US market." Additionally, there will be a presentation by Stephen McNamara, Esq. of Hyman Phelps McNamara, titled "Regulatory Aspects of Functional Foods." These promise to be enlightening presentations and we look forward to seeing you all. Snacks will be provided!

A message from the Co-Chairs

With the incorporation of the Virginia Section of Virginia-Carolina IFT, the DC Section now has 530 members, up from 300 or so. However, only about 25 attended last month's meeting, "Legislative Update." Where are all you folks? You have a standing invitation to the meetings. The Virginia Tech people have found us. I hope the rest of you will join us too. This month we welcome the IFT Scientific Lecturer Mary Ellen Sanders. National IFT offers excellent speakers through this program, paid for with your dues, both local and national. Steve McNamara is our "legal beagle" in this program on neutraceuticals, speaking pro bono. Come on out to see NFPA's new "digs" on I Street, and brief yourself on functional foods.

From IFT Voices, a report of the IFT Science Communications Dept.

IFT this month commended the Institute of Medicine's Committee to Ensure Safe Food from Production through Consumption for its objective analysis of the U.S. food safety regulatory system. Many recommendations in the Committee's report, released Aug.20, 1998, are consistent with the principles IFT set forth earlier this year in its "Guiding Principles for Optimum Food Safety Oversight and Regulation in the United States" (Food Technology, May 1998). These principles have the endorsement of 13 scientific societies. Among those recommendations consistent with IFT's Guiding Principles

(1) Emphasis on a science-based food safety system;

(2) Use of science-based risk assessment;

(3) Need for adequate resources for the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system;

(4) Importance of consistency of regulations among federal agencies and at local, state, national and international levels;

(5) Need to maintain strong intramural and extramural research programs emphasizing both short-and long-term issues and including basic and applied components; and

(6) Centralization of federal food safety activities.

"Consistency in oversight and regulation would be enhanced if responsibility for food oversight were focused in a single policy/regulatory unit that tightly adhered to objective criteria and risk analysis," IFT stated in its Guiding Principles.

Washington Academy of Sciences

The Washington Academy of Sciences is Commemorating their 100th Anniversary. A series of events have been planned. For further information, contact the Office of the President, Washington Academy of Sciences Tel: 202-326-8975.

October Meeting and Events

Back to Top

This page is maintained by the Washington DC Section of the Institute of Food Technologists. Send mail to dhaytowitz@rbhnrc.usda.gov with questions or comments about this web site.

Return to: Top of page | DC IFT Home Page | IFT Home Page

Last Modified:  September 27, 1998