NEWS & ANALYSIS
NEWS OF INDUSTRY
NSF International and Silliker Labs enter into food testing agreement
NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company™, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Silliker Laboratories Group, Homewood, Ill., have formed an agreement to provide food testing and certification services in support of NSF’s product certification program against NSF Standard 75 for Non-Potentially Hazardous Foods. The agreement identifies Silliker as the provider of testing services in support of the program.
NSF Standard 75 provides test methods and criteria to certify that products meet the Food and Drug Administration Food Code criteria for “nonpotentially hazardous foods.” Once certified, these products will bear the NSF Mark, which assures regulators and consumers that the products have been tested and are safe to store at room temperature. In addition, retailers can store products certified to NSF Standard 75 at room temperature, freezing up refrigeration space for other items. Products included in the scope of NSF Standard 75 are specialty breads or pastries containing fresh, canned, frozen, or rehydrated vegetables or soft cheeses added prior to baking; bakery products filled or topped with cream, crème, custard or cheese after baking; products filled prior to baking such as pumpkin, sweet potato, custard, or meringue pies; and toppings, glazes, icings, or fillings stored without temperature control prior to use in other products. Formulated to be nonpotentially hazardous through pH or water activity, and processing or preservatives, they are shipped, stored, and retailed at ambient temperatures.
FMC Corporation forms FMC BioPolymer
FMC Corporation has formed a newly structured FMC BioPolymer business comprised of the former FMC Food Ingredients and Pharmaceutical Divisions and the recently acquired Pronova Biopolymer a.s. The new unit will market the company’s portfolio of alginates, carrageenan, and microcrystalline cellulose (cellulose gel) products.
For more information, call 011-32-2-645-9526 in Europe; 1-800-526-3649 in the United States; and 011-65-872-2920 in Asia.
Hewlett-Packard forms new company—Agilent Technologies
Hewlett-Packard Company, Wilmington, Del., has formed a new company from the HP business units of the Chemical Analysis Group (to which the Little Falls Analytical Division, including the Separation Consumables and Accessories Organization, belongs); the Healthcare Solutions Group, the Semiconductor Products Group, and the previous Test and Measurement Organization (which includes the Communication Solutions Group, the Electronic Products and Solutions Group, and the Automated Test Group).
Effective November 1, 1999, the name of the new company is Agilent Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company.
Eridania Béghin-Say establishes Health & Nutrition Group
Because there is a major movement in the food industry to determine the long-term health benefits surrounding soy protein, Eridania Béghin-Say, based in Paris, France, has established a new business unit, the Health & Nutrition Group, to serve the growing functional food segment of the global food market. Worldwide headquarters for this Group is located in Brussels, Belgium, with the North American headquarters located in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Health & Nutrition Group can assist its clients by providing a resource for building nutritional product strategies using Eridania Béghin-Say’s value-added ingredients, food application technology leadership, regulatory support and labeling strategy, and broad range of nutritional ingredients like soy proteins, isoflavones, and lecithins and polyols. For more information, contact the Health & Nutrition Group, North America, in care of Central Soya, P.O. Box 1400, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-1400 (toll-free phone: 877-818-7896; phone 219-425-5583; fax 219-425-5583; E-mail: [email protected]). In Europe and elsewhere, call the Health & Nutrition Group in Brussels at +32-2-535-1811; fax +32-2-537-6837.
Uniqema breaks ground for new Americas headquarters
Uniqema, a global specialty chemicals business formed earlier this year, is building a new regional headquarters in New Castle, Del., adjacent to the company’s existing site. The site contains one of Uniqema Americas’ key manufacturing operations and its Technical Innovation Center. The 64,000-sq-ft, four-story office building, expected to be completed in the summer of 2000, will connect with the company’s applications laboratories, which are undergoing renovation and expansion.
Otero opens new frozen vegetable processing plant
Otero Frozen Foods, L.L.C. has opened its newly remodeled and expanded frozen processing plant in Rocky Ford, Colo., where it processes selected conventional and organic products such as onions, peppers, zucchini, celery, and garlic. Fire-roasted products and purees are also available. The plant, with more than 40,000 sq ft, has a freezer tunnel that can produce Individually Quick Frozen vegetables at a rate of 6,000 lbs per hour. Its state-of-the-art equipment includes a computerized color sorter that inspects the product after processing and rejects defects before the finished goods are packaged.
NEWS OF PEOPLE
• NORIT Americas Inc., Atlanta, Ga., a subsidiary of NORIT N.V. of The Netherlands, named Herman de Groot President and CEO.• Bush Boake Allen, Montvale, N.J., elected Kenneth M. McHugh to Vice President and Controller, and Charles D. Weller to Vice President and Treasurer. • Alvey Systems, Inc., St. Louis, Mo., named Martin Clark Director of European Operations.
• Robert Morgan was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of POS Pilot Plant Corporation, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. • James F. Owens was named President of Athena Controls, Inc., Dublin, Pa. • Mike Shinya was appointed President of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region of Baan Company N.V., based in The Netherlands. • Newly Weds Foods, Chicago, Ill., named Sandy Bibby, President of UFL Foods Corp, the Canadian division of the company, to the additional position of Vice President of Ingredient Sales for the global markets of Newly Weds Foods. Jim Cain was promoted to Vice President of Newly Weds Foods Breading Division. Judi Hogg was promoted to Director of Research and Development of UFL Foods Corp., Leanne Nierlich joined as a Technical Services representative, and Tracy Krueger was promoted to R&D Manager at the Newly Weds Foods Baldwin Park, Calif., facility.
• Peter Salis was appointed Group Vice President, Food and Industrial Starch Divisions, of the National Starch & Chemical Company, Bridgewater, N.J.• William Rahe was appointed Senior Vice President, Information Technology, of BIOSIS, the abstracting and indexing service for the life sciences headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Robert S. Reinbold joined Sartori Foods, Plymouth, Wis., as Senior Scientist in the Research and Development area. • Joe Umemura was appointed Senior Account Executive at the West Coast Sales Office of Takasago International Corporation (U.S.A.), headquartered in Rockleigh, N.J.
• At Virginia Dare, Brooklyn, N.Y., Don Marmo was appointed Vice President—Product Development and Paulette Kerner Director—Marketing Communications. • Nicholas F. Lauer was named Vice President Quality Assurance of Archer Daniels Midland Company, Decatur, Ill. • Siméus Foods International, Inc., Mansfield, Tex., promoted Olin Newberry to Vice President of Sales and Alejandro Araujo was named Plant Manager. Sam Bonéy joined the company as Director, National Accounts. • Novigen Sciences, Inc., Washington, D.C., promoted Cassi Walls to Project Manager for Environmental Chemistry and Risk Assessment and Kevin Tucker to Project Manager for Regulatory Strategy and Risk Assessment.
• At Grain Processing Corporation, Muscatine, Iowa, Michael W. Bailey joined as Vice President of Food, Pharmaceutical, and Personal Care Products; and Charles Lambert as a Technical Sales Representative for food, pharmaceutical, and personal care products. Diane Rieke was promoted to Manager, Marketing Communication. • Sunny Borgschulte joined David Michael & Co., Inc., as an Associate Account Manager.
• Werner Kofod Nielsen joined Sepragen Corporation, Hayward, Calif., as Director of Dairy Business Development. • FIS, Solon, Ohio, promoted Jim Canning to Manager, FIS North American Distribution. Canning is located in New Milford, Conn. • Michael Gross joined Balchem Corporation, Slate Hill, N.Y., as National Sales Director for the domestic food ingredient business. • Robert Barus Jr. joined Ametek Test & Calibration Instruments, Largo, Fla., as Calibration Regional Sales Manager for the Western U.S. Barus will be located in Fontana, Calif.
NEWS OF SOCIETIES & ASSOCIATIONS
Steinkraus named Fellow of IUFoST’s International Academy of Food Science and Technology
Keith H. Steinkraus, Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Food Science at Cornell University, has been named a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST). Steinkraus retired from the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., in 1988.
The Academy was formed in 1998 to identify and recognize individuals distinguished by their scientific and professional contributions to food science and technology, and to stimulate international education and training in food science and technology. Steinkraus was internationally recognized for his research on indigenous fermented foods—vital components of the diets of billions of people in developing countries and, increasingly, staples in the diets of millions of vegetarians in the U.S.
A major interest of his research was the microbiological, biochemical, and nutritional changes occurring in such fermented foods as tempeh, ontjom, tape, milk-wheat mixtures, Southeast Asian fish and shrimp sauces and pastes, soy sauce, and related products. He contributed key work on soy-based foods, particularly soy milk, that resulted in the growth of a strong soy milk industry in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong, and has continued an active career since retirement as a consulting microbiologist around the world.
Steinkraus also worked on bacterial diseases useful to the biological control of insects. His work helped control the European chafer and Japanese beetle, both of which are important insect pests in New York State. He was the first researcher to obtain sporulation of Bacilius popillae when grown in a fermentation medium. He has published more than 180 scientific articles, edited two books, and holds seven patents. He earned his B.A. from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, where he served one year on the faculty before being appointed Assistant Professor of Bacteriology at Cornell in 1952. He remained at Cornell for 36 years. He is a Fellow of IFT, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and received IFT’s International Achievement Award in 1985.
IAMFES presents Johnson with Educator Award
Eric A. Johnson, Professor of Food Microbiology and Toxicology and of Bacteriology at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, received the Educator Award at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians (IAMFES). A nationally and internationally renowned researcher on Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocytogenes and antimicrobials, Johnson was honored for the excellence of his contributions in teaching, research, and public service in his field of food safety.
A native of California, Johnson joined Wisconsin’s Food Research Institute as Assistant Professor in 1985 and has been a full professor since 1996. He has a B.S. in fermentation and an M.S. in food science from the University of California at Davis, a Sc.D. in food microbiology from the Massachusetts Institute of Techology, and postdoctoral training in bacterial physiology and genetics from the Harvard Medical School.
Hospitality Business Alliance receives $1,000,000 grant from Depts of Labor and Education
The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Hospitality Business Alliance (HBA), an educational partnership of the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Motel Association, has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant to increase employer involvement in school-to-work initiatives. The grant marks the first time the restaurant and hospitality industry have been recognized to this extent by the federal government for one of its educational initiatives.
The grant is one of eight totaling $4,783,651 awarded to national industry groups and trade associations as well as regional and local business organizations. The HBA will engage its constituencies in industry-driven school-to-work initiatives across the country. The industry programs are designed to help students graduate into post-secondary hospitality programs and move into management positions.
The HBA has helped create State Hospitality Education Partnerships (SHEP) through state hospitality associations which are formal alliances among employers, educators, and government agencies. These SHEPs will build upon and enhance existing school-to-work systems. Currently, there are 24 states with SHEPs, involving 11,000 students in 600 high schools and linked with 800 mentored worksites at hotel and restaurant companies.
NRA’s Educational Foundation enhances foodservice management certification program
The Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) has enhanced its Foodservice Management Professional (FMP) certification program. As part of this enhancement, the Foundation has streamlined the FMP application process to increase its efficiency. Eligibility requirements were restructured to better balance work experience and education.
Prior to sitting for the two comprehensive exams, candidates need a minimum of three years’ supervisory experience in a foodservice, restaurant, or hospitality operation. Only two years’ supervisory experience is required, however, for individuals holding an associate’s degree or higher from a hospitality or business program. In addition, candidates must have earned a food protection manager certification within a five-year period prior to applying. The certification exam has also been revised to reflect the Foundation’s new foodservice manager job-task analysis, which will allow for better assessment of managerial competence. Potential FMP candidates will now need to complete both exams within one year of their application date.
For more information about this program, call the NRA Education Foundation at 1-800-765-2122; fax 312-715-0807.
Ernest J. Mann receives award from International Dairy Federation
The International Dairy Federation presented its IDF Award to Ernest J. Mann in appreciation of his long and distinguished career in serving the international dairy community for more than 50 years.
Inaugurated in 1998, the IDF Award is granted in recognition of remarkable contributions to progress in international dairying—in milk production, milk and dairy science, technology, education, economics, marketing, dairy policy, legislation, standards for products and their examination, analysis, and human nutrition. The Award consists of a gold medallion inscribed with the name of the winner and the year of the award, and a piece of art as a gift to the winner.
Throughout his career as an information scientist specializing in dairy subjects, Mann has worked to promote and encourage the development of electronic methods of storage and access to information. In this he was always ahead of his field. His work on the development of dairy databases is unique and continues to be the leading source of dairy information. One of his numerous achievements in the field of establishing international databases is the Food Science and Technology Abstracts database.
Mann also acts as a regular consultant to the Meat and Dairy Service of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy, and is involved in the United Kingdom Society of Dairy Technology. The IDF Award is not given to reward a person’s service to IDF; however, he has held a number of important offices in this organization, where his input and new ideas have been consistently valuable.
Elections and Appointments
• The Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, Chicago, Ill., appointed A. Reed Hayes President and Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation, effective immediately. Hayes was previously the Foundation’s Executive Vice President.
Caitlin Storhaug was promoted to Vice President of Communications. In this position, she has responsibility for overall media relations, including promoting the Foundation’s million-dollar Scholarships Program and National Food Safety Education Month; oversees the content of several newsletters and the quarterly magazine of the International Food Safety Council; and works with the organization’s alliances to create and implement long-range communications strategies.
She was formerly Director of Communications and a member of the Foundation’s senior management team and had been Director of Communications for the National Restaurant Association, Washington, D.C. Prior to joining NRA, Storhaug managed public education and media campaigns for clients at Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart (now Ogilvy PR Worldwide). Storhaug earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in communications from the George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• The Western Packaging Association (WPA) is celebrating 50 years of existence this year. It was founded in 1949 by Ken Dean Sr. and Sal Pollack to bring together a West Coast group to sponsor the then new WestPack Show. Today, with chapters in Northern and Southern California and Portland Oregon, and members throughout the United States and Canada, the organization provides a forum for packaging professionals to network, obtain continuing education, and keep abreast of trends in the packaging industry.
WPA’s elected officials for 1999 are: President—Bill Davis, President of Custom Systems Integration Co., Carlsbad, Calif.; Executive Vice President—Harold Hart, consultant, Waddington Jaycare, Los Angeles, Calif.; Vice President—Brian Patrick Sears, Sales Engineer, West-Link Corporation, San Mateo, Calif.; and Treasurer—Morice France, UCB Films, San Mateo, Calif.
• The Processed Apples Institute elected the following officers for this year: Chairman of the Board—Tom Stokes, CEO, Tree Top, Inc., Selah, Wash; Vice Chairman—Peter Pappas, President, Clement Pappas & Co., Inc., Seabrook, N.J.; Secretary—Gilbert Cassagne, President, Mott’s North America, a Division of Cadbury Schweppes, Stamford, Conn.; and Treasurer—Richard Bogard, President, Cherry Central, Inc., Traverse City, Mich.
• Arnold Manheimer, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of J. Manheimer, Inc., Long Island, N.Y., has been elected President of The Flavor and Extract Manufacturer Association of the United States (FEMA) for the term ending May 2000. One of Manheimer’s priorities as President of FEMA will be to help develop a Global Flavor Ingredient List.
• The Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Washington, D.C., has promoted Tim Weigner Director, Food Safety Programs. In this position, Weigner will direct food safety educational programs for FMI members, including editing and publishing FMI’s Supermarket Food Safety newsletter and managing activities associated with FMI’s Food Protection Certification Program. He will also serve as liaison to FMI members, federal and state public health government agencies, academia and allied industry, and other associations on retail food safety.
Prior to joining FMI in 1998, he was a training officer for the Food and Drug Administration and a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army Veterinary Services unit, where he orchestrated the re-engineering of food safety programs worldwide. He has a B.S. in food science and technology from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.
Company News in Brief
• American Institutional Products, Inc., Austin, Minn., manufacturer of food products for the healthcare industry, has changed its name to Hormel HealthLabs, Inc. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation.
• Brenntag, Inc., Reading, Pa., global distributor of chemicals, has appointed a subsidiary company, Delta Distributors, Inc., Longview, Tex., as a distributor for food additives made by Archer Daniels Midland Corporation’s Food Additives Division, Decatur, Ill. The company will distribute ADM food additives products in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Mexico.
Brenntag has also appointed its subsidiary company, Soco-Lynch Corporation, Santa Fe Springs, Calif., as California distributor for hydrocolloids manufactured by Agriproducts, Inc., Coral Springs, Fla.
• Century Foods International (CFI), Sparta, Wis., acquired Schwartz Laboratories of Lyndon Station, Wis. to continue its expansion into the nutraceutical and functional food industry. Don Schwartz was appointed president of Schwartz Laboratories, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of CFI.
• Danisco Cultor, Ardsley, N.Y., has sold its Veltol® and Veltol®-Plus brands of maltol and ethyl maltol and will license related technology to Nicholas Piramal India Limited. The agreement includes the licensing of proprietary manufacturing technology. Nicholas Piramal is constructing a world-class dedicated maltols plant in Hyderabad, India, scheduled to begin production early in 2000.
• ECC International, Roswell, Ga., has expanded its carbonate operations into a new 40,000-metric-tonne facility in Lixhe, Belgium, providing a source of the company’s proprietary FilmLink® grades of engineered calcium carbonate products for the European Polylefin film market. The business operates within the newly created Pigments & Additives Group of Paris-based IMETAL.
• Flavorite Laboratories, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., opened a new Culinary Center in July 1999 to provide advanced focus group and food testing capabilities. The new center features state-of-the-art equipment, a 2,000-sq-ft kitchen, and a 1,500-sq-ft conference room with audio visual presentation equipment. The equipment is designed for quick removal so that customers’ unique equipment may be brought in to better simulate their operations. For more information, call 1-800-647-9314; Web site: www.flavorite.com.
• Flavurence Corporation, Commerce Calif., has opened an East Coast office and laboratory in Whippany, N.J., headed by Tom Ulinski, Director of Research, and John Creech, National Sales Manager. The company has also completed a major expansion of its laboratory and production capabilities at its headquarters facility in California.
• International Specialty Products Inc. (ISP) has entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of Monsanto Company’s Kelco Alginates Division, including manufacturing facilities in San Diego, Calif. and Girvan, Scotland, and a research facility in Tadworth, England.The algins business has approximately 370 employees and will be renamed Pharmaceutical, Agricultural and Food Ingredients. Steve Post will remain as president.
• Nalco Chemical Company, Naperville, Ill., has acquired Pure Chem Products Company, Inc., of Stanton, Calif. Pure Chem manufactures and markets cleaners and water treatment services for the food and beverage market.
• Nature’s Path Foods, Inc., Delta, B.C., Canada, recently opened a new $15 million, 70,000-sq-ft organic cereal plant in Blaine, Wash. The plant, which is certified organic, will have 100 employees at full operation and will increase its offerings from about 35 to more than 50 cereals under its Nature’s Path 100 organic brand and its all-natural LifeStream Foods label.
• ORSI, an Italian group specializing in software for process control and production management, has entered a long-term strategic alliance with Endress+Hauser, an international supplier of measurement technology and process automation, to offer comprehensive process solutions to a rapidly growing market.
• Riviana Foods Inc., Houston, Tex., has reached an agreement with Tri Valley Growers, parent company of S&W Fine Foods, San Ramon, Calif., to transfer certain assets of S&W’s rice business to Riviana. Under the terms of the agreement, Riviana will license the S&W trademark for use on retail packaged rice products, which it will market throughout the United States.
• Sara Lee Bakery has united with Sara Lee Refrigerated Foods and Research and Development to become Sara Lee Branded Foods, and has moved to new headquarters on Goose Island in downtown Chicago, Ill.
• Seneca Foods Corporation, Pittsford, N.Y., has agreed in principle to purchase the Midwest private label canned vegetable business of Agrilink Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pro-Fac Cooperative, Rochester, N.Y. Included in the transaction are Agrilink’s Cambria, Wis. and Arlington, Minn. facilities. Agrilink’s branded canned vegetables, Veg-All and Freshlike, are not included. Additionally, the two companies will enter into reciprocal co-packing agreements.
• United Salt Corporation has opened a new evaporated salt facility in Baytown, Tex., near Houston, with an annual capacity of about 200,000 tons. The Baytown facility product line will include food grade salt, water softening salt, and industrial salt, and will produce LCM (low calcium/magnesium salt), a specialty salt used by customers requiring high purity evaporated salt.
• Special processing systems used by Wolfking Inc., Columbus, Ohio, a subsidiary of the Danish Wolfking Group, have been approved as the preferred means to process all chicken used for McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets in the U.S. According to Wolfking’s management, this special chicken processing technology is expected to be a major breakthrough in enhanced food quality and safety for consumers.
Did you miss the 1999 Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago, Illinois?
You can order audio cassettes of the informative sessions that were presented. Prices range from $11–$22.
Place an order by one of the following methods:
• visit www.ift.org and click on the 1999 Annual Meeting audio cassette link
• Call 303-649-1811 to request a fax of the order form to be sent to you
Updates to the Sound Images website are being made daily and direct online ordering features will be added soon.
by BETSY BAIRD
Assistant Editor
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