Wisconsin Section of the Institute of Food Technologists

 

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2nd Annual Golf Outing and Dinner
Western Lakes Golf Club
Pewaukee, WI - September 25, 2007
Here is the power point presentation given by Dr. Daryl Lund.

 

Stevens Point Brewery hosts WIFT Cheese-Beer Pairing Workshop - April 25, 2007
WIFT members Hondo Dammann and Steve Bransky
with Point Brewmasters.

By Fritz Buss

On April 25 WIFT sponsored a brewery tour and cheese/beer pairing reception at the Steven’s Point Brewery, in Stevens Point Wisconsin.   “Matt”, our guide and host, gave us an account of the 150 year history of the company, which actually began 2 years before Steven’s Point was founded.  He credited the brewery for rapid growth of the town’s population stating “if you build it they will come.”   The tour began at the carbon dioxide purification/compression system, proceeded to the wort cooking vat, through the fermentation room to the beer aging and container filling areas.  The group challenged Matt with many questions, some only food technologists would ask.    

After returning to the Brewery Pub, formerly the coal bin for the factory, we were each given a 150 year anniversary commemorative glass for sampling a variety of ales, lagers, and pilsner beers selected for the tasting.  Cheeses included fresh cheese curds, Muenster, aged cheddar (including a 7 year old block), Stravecchio (world champion), gorgonzola (another world champion selection), pepper jack, smoked provolone, and baby Swiss.  Before tasting began, Matt gave suggestions for pairings based on trials conducted earlier by Scott Stieber and him.  Guide wheels from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for matching cheeses with various beers were also distributed.  After Matt’s, presentation we spent about an hour comparing our preferences for beer and cheese combinations.  A little more great beer with pleasant conversation, during a buffet supper, wrapped up this very special event.  Each of us left with a bottle or two of Point Root Beer displaying WIFT labels designed especially for the occasion.  

Sabor Brazilian Churrascaria - March 2007

               
Sabor Brazilian                Salad Bar at                     WIFT members           
Churrascaria                    Sabor-Brazil                     enjoying Brazilian
                                                                           cuisine

Amazing...describes our evening at Sabor Brazilian Churrascaria in March.  The restaurant was beautiful, incorporating the four elements of nature:  earth, air, fire and water into the decor.  Our tour guides explained the challenges that they had to overcome from educating their raw material suppliers to working with the Department of Health and developing a HACCP plan.  The food was fresh and colorful, and we left with a clear understanding of that powerful fifth element...flavor or "Sabor".

Student Night - February 20, 2007

By Beth Ann Nylander

 WIFT's annual student night was held February 20th at the Madison Area Technical College.  Several students from the University of Wisconsin Madison were in attendance, along with about 30 professional members, to listen to Dr. Justin Williams talk about Nanotechnology and recognize the students who received scholarships this year.


The scholarship recipients were:
 
    Leann Barden    UW-Madison
    Kristin Sonnenberg    UW-Stevens Point
    Heather Foust    Mount Mary College
    Rebecca Bender    MATC Culinary Associates
    Bradley Bolling    UW-Madison Graduate School
 
These scholarships were made possible through donations to the organization and the successful golf outing held last fall.  As a result we were able to significantly increase not only the number of scholarships handed out, but the amount of each scholarship.  WIFT is very happy to be able to support the future of Food Science and Engineering, and the future of our organization.

The 25th Annual Midwest Food Processing Conference
   November 7th, 2006

By Carie Wagner

The 25th Midwest Food Processing Conference (MFPC) was held last November 7th, the day before the Chicago Section Supplier’s Night. The overall theme was “How to take Silver Ideas and Create Golden Opportunities.” Five presenters from academia and industry, along with the MFPC/RCA (Research Chefs Association) Culinology® Challenge, made for a fun day, full of ideas, camaraderie and food!

The day’s program started with Mark Newman and Heather Ganske from SunOpta’s Grain and Foods Group discussing “Turning Green into Gold: Formulating Organic Foods That Taste Great”. Mark and Heather shared information on the growth of organic products from $178 million in 1980 to $13 billion in 2006. Though there are challenges to maintain an organic label, formulators now have more choices which allow the finished product to taste good, function well, be attractive and still be organic.

Alan Roberts from Nutrition Innovation, Inc., was our second speaker. Mark shared his knowledge on wellness marketing, regulatory standards for health claims, and the capabilities of the category. Health and wellness industry sales were projected for a 7% growth but actually grew 15% from 2004 – 2005. Functional/fortified beverages are the category lead. Mark then lead the audience through a number of wellness market categories such as , heart health, antioxidants, performance, immunity, weight loss, women’s health, digestive health, joint/mobility health, multivitamins, mood & stress and cognitive.

MFPC’s third presenter was Dr. Larry Steenson, from Danisco USA, Inc., whose topic was “Ingredients for Food Protection”. Larry defined hurdle technology as the combination of treatments and/or ingredients used to enhance shelf stability, safety and the quality of foods while having a minimal effect on the sensory qualities of the food. Most are generally meant to eliminate or inhibit the growth of unwanted microorganisms. Hurdles that could be used are temperature, atmosphere, water activity, pH, chemical control agents such as salts, antimicrobials or other ingredients such as spices and/or extracts. Larry’ presentation focused on antimicrobials.

Dr. Sudhir Sastry discussed “A Golden Opportunity: Ohmic and Moderate Electric Field Processing”. Ohmic heating is the process of heating food by passing electric current through the food. Benefits include rapid and uniform heating giving the finished products exceptional high quality. Emerging applications include continuous flow sterilization of solid-liquid mixtures, on-demand heating/vending applications, heating of non-food viscous liquids, sterilization of waste, blanching and monitoring starch gelatinization.

Clausen Ely had the challenge as the after lunch presenter, but kept the audience informed with his presentation on “Current Topics in the US and EU Food Regulations”. Priorities include ensuring food defense, food safety, improving nutrition and dietary supplement safety as well as cosmetic safety.

The MFPC/RCA Culinology Challenge closed the day.  The teams of chefs, food scientists, and students combined, discussed their challenges of making a food with either a reduction in salt, fat, or calories by 25%. The food was made ahead of time and presented after the Ingredient Suppliers sponsoring the challenge shared short overviews of their companies and products.

The Midwest Food Processing Conference would like to thanks all the suppliers, presenters, students, chefs, food scientist and organizers who made the 25th anniversary of our conference a momentous one.  See you at the 2007 MFPC!

Carie Wagner, WIFT Councilor, MFPC Volunteer

Lambeau Field Tour - October 12 , 2006
 by Hondo Dammann

We had 30 WIFT members and friends participate in the tour and dinner.  The tour was very informative, from how much beer is needed, to the volunteer groups running the food booths on game day. 

Each volunteer group must commit to all ten games and then have team members come and learn all procedures and food safety practices prior to the game day weekends.  We were able to tour the area where all the food is delivered, the coolers, and the large kitchen on the fourth floor, along with the kitchen serving to Curly’s Pub. 

We had a wonderful time networking and dining following the tour in a private room of Curly’s Pub.  The attendees that were present really enjoyed the evening.