2000 Achievement Award Winners

Since the presentation of the first Nicolas Appert Award in 1942, the annual awards presentation has been one of the highlights of IFT’s Annual Meeting. This year’s awards were presented during the Opening Event of IFT’s 2000 Annual Meeting held in Dallas, Tex., on June 10, 2000. Fourteen 2000 Achievement Award winners are shown on this and following pages. 

2000 Nicolas Appert Award
AARON L. BRODY, Managing Director of Rubbright•Brody, Inc., Duluth, Ga., and Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia, received the 2000 Nicolas Appert Medal, IFT’s highest honor, for advancing the field of food science through his contributions to numerous aspects of the industry. 

Known in recent years for his expertise, involvement, and leadership in food packaging, it is sometimes overlooked that Brody’s broad educational and industrial experience spans the science, technology, marketing, and packaging of food products. During his 50-year career he was a pioneer in such major technologies as ionizing radiation preservation, controlled atmosphere food preservation; microwave food heating, processing and browning; and aseptic packaging. All of these were cited in 1989 at the time of IFT’s 50th anniversary as being among the ten major food technology innovations between 1939 and 1989. He has been involved in the development of more than 20 different types of confectionery, researched the interaction between candy and acne, and categorized requirements for product development. In fact, his peers have said of him, “to see the future of food technology, learn what Aaron Brody is working on now.” 

Early in his career, Brody worked for Birdseye on the development of precooked frozen fish, the first precooked frozen food to enter the market. As food technologist at Raytheon, he was the project leader on the microwave heating and browning of foods. He continued this work when he moved to the Whirlpool Corporation where, as Food Research Manager, he conceived and developed the first controlled/modified atmosphere fresh food preservation system. This system, known as Tectrol, is now the basis for all modified atmosphere packaging of minimally processed foods. This accomplishment won the 1964 IFT Industrial Achievement Award for Whirlpool. Brody’s book, “Controlled/Modified Atmosphere/Vacuum Packaging of Foods,” was the first book on the topic and the forerunner of others in which he was either author or contributor. 

During his years as an independent consultant, he conducted research on such projects as oxygen scavengers and other active packaging; the nature and benefits of argon as an active component of otherwise inert gas systems; ultra high barrier plastic packaging; and the microbiological safety/quality retention of chilled home meal replacement foods. This last includes intense activity in thermally pasteurized prepared foods for refrigerated distribution and now hurdle technology to holistically effect preservation. 

His accomplishments go beyond technological creativity. He was an IFT Scientific Lecturer for nearly ten years and interacts regularly with the media on subjects within his broad areas of expertise. He is an in-demand speaker and columnist, and shares his knowledge as an adjunct professor at several colleges and universities. His many IFT activities include founding both the IFT Packaging and Foodservice Divisions, and he has played an active role in at least four Regional Sections. 

Brody, who joined IFT as a Student Member in 1950, received his Ph.D. in food technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Food Technology in 1957. He was named an IFT Fellow in 1981 and was the recipient of IFT’s Industrial Scientist Achievement Award in 1994.

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2000 Babcock-Hart Award
GEORGE E. INGLETT, Research Chemist in the Biopolymer Research Unit of the Agriculture Research Service, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, Ill., received the 2000 Babcock-Hart Award honoring an IFT member for improving public health through nutrition research. 

Although he has accomplished much in basic and applied food research, Inglett has become best known in recent years for his research on food ingredients leading to making more nutritious food widely and readily available to a large population. One of his major achievements was the invention of Oatrim in 1988, followed by its commercialization in 1991. Oatrim, made from oats, can add health benefits to food by decreasing saturated fat and adding a nutritional factor called beta-glucan. Additional research has led to the development of Z-Trim in 1996 and Nu-TrimX in 1998. The last two developments are in various stages of pilot plant and market evaluations. 

Oatrim, used in low-fat and fat-free foods, illustrates the development and use of this ingredient for health benefits. It can help control saturated fat calories in nutritious foods and can be converted to a shortening-like gel by heating and cooling an Oatrim dispersion having one calorie per gram. New nutritious products containing Oatrim are appearing frequently, with many more under active development. Some of these areas include reduced-fat meats, frozen desserts, salad dressings, sauces, gravies, soups, mayonnaise, margarine, breads, waffles, granola bars, muffins, cookies, brownies, beverages, convenience items, and cakes. Recent health claims allowed by the FDA for oat products suggest that these diets could be considered important factors in maintaining good health. More nutritious food should especially be considered for the obese and people with high blood cholesterol levels. 

Nu-TrimX is a new generation of cream and fat replacers, nutrifiers, and texturizers using oat and barley grains, and imparts moistness, softness, and cohesiveness in baked goods and other foods. It is especially useful in nutraceutical foods. Z-Trim is a zero-calorie fat replacer and texturizing ingredient which is made from low-cost agricultural products such as hulls of oats, corn, rice, soybeans, and peas. As an insoluble fiber, it is recognized as particularly beneficial to the gastrointestinal system. 

Inglett received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Iowa in 1952. He joined IFT in 1961 and has been an active member of the Carbohydrate Division as well as several national committees. He received numerous awards for his contributions to food science and technology, particularly in connection with his invention and development of Oatrim. 

2000 Carl R. Fellers Award
DANE T. BERNARD, Vice President, Food Safety Programs, of the National Food Processors Association, Washington, D.C., was named 2000 recipient of the Carl R. Fellers Award. This award is given to an IFT member who has brought honor and recognition to the profession of food science and technology through activities and achievements other than teaching, research, development, or technology transfer covered by other IFT awards. 

Working with fellow scientists, Bernard has designed documents for improving the microbiological quality and safety of food, assuring the safety of food processing systems, and reducing the risk of foodborne illness. He has done extensive testing of food processing systems, supervised research in many areas of food safety, and written and spoken about these important topics to organizations around the world. He has been a national proponent of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) concept and, indeed, his perspectives in crafting HACCP documents for FDA regulation were key to the evolvement and implementation of the HACCP concept. He has been involved in resolving several tough microbiological problems, including the foodborne outbreak in the early 1980s concerning botulism in canned salmon. 

Throughout his career, Bernard has acted as the “voice of the food industry.” He has been lead instructor in workshops, short courses, and seminars on the subject of food safety. He is able to analyze a situation quickly, and then translate scientific facts into useful information for the food industry, the media, and policymakers. In 1998, Congress requested his testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Hearing on Federal Efforts to Ensure the Safety of Imported Foods. His expertise is often sought, and he is frequently interviewed on television or radio on a “hot topic” in food safety. An outstanding communicator, he has made significant contributions to the current body of knowledge in the areas of food microbiology, the evaluation of food processing systems, HACCP, and food policy issues related to food safety. His accomplishments are considered unparalleled among his peers. 

Bernard is involved in a number of professional organizations, including IFT, and makes a substantial contribution to each committee and project with which he is involved, particularly ad hoc committees on HACCP activities. Currently, he is an IFT Scientific Lecturer. 

Bernard received a B.S. in food science from Purdue University and an M.S. in food science from the University of Maryland. He joined IFT in 1974 and is a member of the Washington, D.C. Section. 

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2000 Samuel Cate Prescott Award
SUSAN L. HEFLE, Research Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP), Dept. of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, received the 2000 Samuel Cate Prescott Award for her research on food allergens. This award is given to an IFT member who is less than 36 years of age or has received his or her highest degree within the previous ten years and has demonstrated outstanding ability in food science research. 

Hefle made an immediate impact in the mid-1990s on the emerging area of allergens in relation to food safety, and has established herself as one of the world’s foremost authorities on food allergens, a pioneer in developing scientific information on allergenic foods. Through FARRP, she leads research in a number of areas related to food allergies and food allergens—the identification and characterization of those proteins in foods which can act as allergens, the assessment of the allergenicity of genetically modified foods, the development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for detecting residues of allergenic foods that may contaminate other foods, the effectiveness of sanitation practices in removing allergen residues, the allergenicity of specific food ingredients, and the determination of thresh-hold doses for allergenic foods. In each of these areas, she has made great strides forward. For example, in 1995 the food industry lacked the tools needed to manage the food allergen issue. Hefle developed highly specific ELISAs for the detection of peanut, egg, cows’ milk (casein and whey), almond, and soybean, and the assays for peanut, egg, and casein have been commercially licensed. This successful technology transfer has meant ELISAs are being widely used by food companies and regulatory agencies. There are similar success stories for each area of Hefle’s research. 

By the mid-1990s, both Canada and the U.S. had begun to recognize the importance of food allergens as a significant food safety issue, and that there were few tools to address this problem. FARRP was established at the University of Nebraska in 1995 with Susan Hefle as Co-Director. Spectacularly, Hefle developed and continues daily to administer the center’s key programs, and seek industry sponsorship. Under her leadership, FARRP has become one of the foremost industry-funded consortia in all of food science and technology. 

Hefle received her Ph.D. in food toxicology/immunology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1991. She joined IFT as a Student Member in 1986 and currently serves as an IFT Scientific Lecturer, member of the Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition, and member of the Biotechnology Issues Task Force. She is also Treasurer of the Ak-Sar-Ben Section, Chair of the Biotechnology Division, and Newsletter Editor and Executive Committee Member of the Toxicology and Safety Evaluation Division. 

2000 William V. Cruess Award
RICHARD D. LUDESCHER, Associate Professor of Food Science, Cook College of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., received the 2000 William V. Cruess Award for excellence in teaching food science and/or technology. 

Over and over again, Ludescher was cited for his love of subject and love of teaching. His excitement for the subject is contagious; his teaching style invites questions from his students and encourages them to think beyond what is presented in the textbook. His classes are held in more of a discussion style rather than conventional lecturing, and he makes sure his students understand difficult concepts before proceeding to the next step. In the words of one of his peers, Ludescher “has the ability to size up his audience and estimate their capacity to understand concepts. He then develops appropriate similes through which difficult ... concepts can be explained at just the right level of challenge.” He describes this ability as “awesome.” The students agree—Ludescher continually incorporates current techniques into his instruction style, illustrating his points with pertinent, often humorous examples and creative metaphors. His lectures capture their interest because he communicates well, provokes thought, and provides the latest tools for accessing information. 

His interaction with students does not end at the classroom door. Ludescher takes a solid interest in his students’ well-being, and they consider him friend, mentor, advisor, and shoulder if the situation arises. His door is always open to them. In addition to teaching and research, he was Undergraduate Curriculum Coordinator and faculty advisor to the Student Chapter at Rutgers from 1993 to 1998, during which time IFTSA gave Rutgers its Chapter of the Year Award twice, in 1995 and 1998. He has been Chair of the Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Committee since 1993. In 1998, he developed the Rutgers Summer Institute in Food Science, a program designed to introduce food science teaching modules to high school teachers and funded by a minigrant from the IFT Career Guidance Committee. He is responsible for a critical number of computing infrastructure grants, and his work as Coordinator of the Department of Distance Learning has helped numerous food science industry professionals pursue graduate education through video conferencing at work. Ludescher has received numerous awards for teaching, including the Warren I. Sussman Award, Rutgers’ highest award, and the USDA Food and Agricultural Sciences Excellence in College and University Teaching Award for the Northeast Region. His students honored him with Rutgers’ Endel Karmas Award for teaching both in 1994 and in 1998, a fitting tribute to their regard for him. 

Ludescher received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Oregon in 1984. He joined IFT in 1989 and is a member of the Central New Jersey Subsection. 

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2000 International Award
KHEE CHOON RHEE, Professor of Food Science and Technology, and Director of the Food Protein Research and Development Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, was the 2000 recipient of the IFT International Award, given for promoting better international understanding of food science and the practical transfer of technology to a developing nation or to an economically depressed area in a developed nation. 

Throughout his career, Khee Choon Rhee has made significant contributions to international and domestic food science research and technological development. He has been instrumental in advancing the work of the Food Protein Research and Development Center at Texas A&M University, and is valued by students and colleagues alike for his insight, creativity, and pursuit of academic excellence. These accomplishments extend beyond the U.S. into the international arena. 

Rhee has demonstrated a commitment to sharing his knowledge, skills, and the technological products of his work with the peoples of the developing world. He brings modern food technology to distant parts of the globe, ensuring that this technology is used to maximum benefit by properly trained workers and supervisors. His program is responsible for instructing more than 300 international trainees from more than 40 countries in pursuit of this goal. His commercialized technology transfer projects include a bouillon cube production plant that manufactures flavoring agents from cottonseed meals, which was built in the Ivory Coast and is currently in operation; a peanut meal plant built in Senegal, Africa, which produces aflatoxin detoxified peanut meals for animal feed ingredients, and is currently in operation; a demonstration/production facility for animal feed ingredients from castor meal built in Bangkok, Thailand, currently in operation; a demonstration/production facility for imitation cheese products made from coconut milk being established in Thailand as a joint venture between a private company and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization; and a soy protein pilot plant, to be used for research and development as well as production, established at the Beijing (China) Grain Science Research Institute. 

Rhee has advised 17 masters and 21 doctoral degree candidates from 12 countries and interacted with 41 visiting professors and researchers from 24 countries. He has spoken extensively throughout the world on soy proteins and related technologies, organized numerous international symposia and workshops, and acted as consultant to such international bodies as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. He has published 66 articles in refereed journals, authored 36 books or chapters therein, and written more than 150 project reports. 

Rhee received his Ph.D. in food science from Michigan State University and joined IFT as a Student Member in 1969. 

2000 Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science
TERRY E. ACREE, Professor of Biochemistry, Cornell University New York State Agricultural Extension Service, Geneva, N.Y., won the 2000 Stephen S. Chang Award, given in recognition of a food scientist or technologist who has made significant contributions to lipid science or flavor science. Acree was recognized for his research on the basic chemistry and understanding of flavor, and its relation to human perception and causative agents in our food supply. 

His work stems from original research with his professor, R.S. Shallenberger, in the area of sweetness perception. They developed a model called the AH-B theory of sweet tastes based on hydrogen bonding of a stimulant to receptors on the tongue, and published an article in 1967 that was a landmark in understanding sweetness perception on a physicochemical basis. Nearly all subsequent models of sweetness incorporate the AH-B idea. In the 1970s, Acree and his staff recognized a need for a sensitive, selective, quantifiable bioassay for odor in food extracts and isolates, and engineered an improved gas chromatography-olfactometery (GCO) into a more quantitative and objective analytical tool. This developed in the 1990s into a newly built, odor-free laboratory at Cornell which was equipped with the special GCO technology now called CharmAnalysis™. For the last six years, samples from more than 50 companies have been analyzed for a variety of odor issues using CharmAnalysis, and payments from this service have funded most of the maintenance and operation of the laboratory. In 1989, a new company, DATU, Inc., was formed to transfer the technology to other institutions. Since then, CharmAnalysis systems have been installed in companies and institutions around the world. 

Working with pheromone chemists, Acree organized in 1983 an American Chemical Society symposium, “Semiochemistry: Flavors and Pheromones,” in which entomologists and flavor chemists shared common problems and unique solutions. Since then, he has cooperated with biologists to link a sex pheromone from a moth to an odor in lemons, and associated a native American grape smell with a scent-marking compound in a weasel. This last led to a discovery by another group that the same compound was the most potent bird repellent tested. Currently, he is working with a biologist interested in the chemical ecology of bats. 

These and other broad interests have helped food scientists appreciate the role of flavor chemistry in adding value to food products. Acree’s work has contributed to processing technologies resulting in improved product quality, and agricultural production techniques and selection of material for improved quality. Such results have led to a cutting-edge physiological flavor response important to fellow researchers and industry users. 

Acree received his Ph.D. in food science and technology from Cornell University in 1968. He joined IFT in 1971 and is a member of the Western New York Section. 

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2000 Industrial Scientist Award
GEORGE E. INGLETT, winner of the 2000 Babcock-Hart Award, also won the 2000 Industrial Scientist Award, established to recognize an IFT-member industrial scientist who has made a major technical contribution to the advancement of the food industry. 

Inglett has made many significant contributions over a 50-year career which spans both industry and government service. During the late 1950s, while employed as a Research Chemist at Corn Products Company, Argo, Ill., he purified Aspergillus niger glucoamylase used for converting starch to glucose, making possible thousands of corn sweeteners uses in foods. Patents for this technique were issued worldwide in major processing countries, a major success for corn sweeteners production. 

During the early 1960s, as Senior Food Scientist at Griffith Laboratories, Chicago, Ill., Inglett was involved in troubleshooting all major processing operations including isoascorbate, protein hydrolysates, and soy protein concentrates. He discovered a beef flavoring composition that is widely used in meats, breadings, sauces, gravies, and curing compositions, and is maintained still as a trade secret. 

The later 1960s found him at International Minerals and Chemical Corporation working on a replacement for cyclamate and saccharin, preferably from natural sources. He established a network for obtaining plant materials from remote parts of Africa and Asia, principally to evaluate exotic plants for intense sweetness. In two of these plants, serendipity berry and katemfe, he found an entirely new class of intensely sweet proteins, and his studies resulted in the establishment of katemfe plantations in West Africa as a source of a new protein sweetener (now genetically engineered). Based on this pioneering discovery, Tate & Lyle formed a new company in England to produce the sweetener, called talin. Inglett’s other sweetener research was to synthesize dihydrochalcones with improved sweet taste qualities. 

Inglett’s pioneering contributions to food technology continued after he joined the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Peoria, Ill., where he invented Oatrim, used in low-fat and fat-free foods. Current work includes the development of Nu-TrimX, a new generation of cream and fat replacers, nutrifiers, and texturizers; and Z-Trim, a zero-calorie fat replacer. These three products, introduced through USDA, are described under the Babcock-Hart Achievement Award on p. 85. 

2000 Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award
DEE M. GRAHAM, President, R&D Enterprises, Walnut Creek, Calif. and Retired Director of Del Monte Foods, received the 2000 Calvert L. Willey Award in recognition of his meritorious and imaginative service to IFT. 

An IFT member since 1969, Graham has worked to support and advance the goals of the organization by serving in a number of positions over the last three decades. He was elected Outstanding Member of the Northern California Section in 1989, having served the Section as Program Chair, Chair, Councilor, and member of numerous committees including the Strategic Planning Committee. Currently, he chairs the Section’s Long-Range Planning Committee. He was just as active during the 1970s for the St. Louis Section, where he held a number of positions. 

For the national organization, Graham served as Regional Communicator for the St. Louis/Kansas City area (1973–74), Councilor Representative to the Executive Committee (1978–80), and IFT Liaison to CAST. He was a Member of the Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition (1974), the Committee on Research Needs (1983–85), the IFT 50th Anniversary Committee (1984–89), and the Finance Committee (1988–89); Member and Chair of the Committee on Public Information (1978–82) and of the Committee on Nominations and Elections (1984–89). He also served as President of Phi Tau Sigma and, in 1991, was a nominee for IFT President. He was named an IFT Fellow in 1988. 

Graham’s services to IFT include enthusiastic support of the Student Association and the Western Area College Bowl, which he served as coach and moderator. He has written several articles for the Northern California Section’s newsletter, NCIFT Hornblower, which have provided useful guides to IFT election procedures (thereby increasing election participation among members) and to food researchers on the process of seeking and managing substantial food research contracts (thereby supplementing ever-decreasing public funds for research). 

Graham has a long list of accomplishments. In addition to his IFT activities, he organized and chaired the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Missouri. At Del Monte Foods, he was instrumental in the development of Lite Fruits, No Sodium Vegetables, and Sodium Labeling. He pioneered the Food and Agriculture Offices for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and now manages the EPRI Food Office. He was chair of the Editorial Board for Science of Food and Agriculture, and also chaired an Expert Panel leading to the declaration in 1997 of GRAS status for the use of ozone as an antimicrobial agent in food processing. This has led to hundreds of new applications of ozone in food and agriculture, with significant contributions to the improved safety and processing efficiency of food. He received his Ph.D. in dairy science from Iowa State University in 1954. 

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2000 Research and Development Award
JOHN B. LUCHANSKY, Research Leader, Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wyndmoor, Pa., received the 2000 Research & Development Award for contributing to the understanding of food microbiology through his research on foodborne pathogens, with emphasis on molecular characterization and typing of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli 0157:H7; use of lactic acid bacteria as biopreservative and biotherapeutic agents; and control of pathogens and spoilage bacteria in fresh and fermented meats and dairy products. His work has created a nationally and internationally recognized bridge for the application of basic principles in microbiology and molecular biology to the investigation and resolution of practical problems of contamination in the food industry. 

Luchansky’s research has been highly productive, generating about 50 peer-reviewed research papers, 100 abstracts, and more than 130 invited presentations. In addition, he has authored 40 book chapters, proceedings papers, and technical articles, and he is a co-inventor on four patents. Luchansky has served as a mentor for about 15 undergraduates, 10 graduate students, and 8 post-doctoral students. He has presented several key international lectures and hosted at least ten international scientists who worked in his laboratory to learn techniques in the cutting edge areas developed by his group. This level of international recognition attests to the quality and positive impact of his program. 

For example, during several major outbreaks of food-associated listeriosis during the past decade, Luchansky recognized the need for better differentiation methods in epidemiological studies. He was one of the first to pioneer the use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to distinguish among Listeria species so they could be tracked from infection to food. Similarly, he identified restriction endonuclease digestion profiles (REDP) which assisted in the construction of a macrorestriction map and revealed two distinct genomic divisions and distinguished different types of L. monocytogenes at the molecular level. This technology is now the “gold standard” for molecular identification, differentiation, and tracking of foodborne pathogens. Luchansky was one of the first to show the utility of molecular techniques in food microbiology. 

He has studied microbes and compounds with gastrointestinal functionality and evaluated the stability of bacteriocins in food systems, compared the effectiveness of commercial preservatives and antimicrobials, and provided sausagemakers with effective guidelines for producing safe products. He has also done extensive work with E. coli 0157:H7, including the identification of (natural) reservoirs and its dissemination therefrom. It is the rare scientist who can work effectively at both cutting edge technology and the practical uses of scientific research, as Luchansky has spectacularly done. 

He received his Ph.D. in microbiology from Iowa State University in 1987, and joined IFT in 1989. He is a member of the Philadelphia Section and the Biotechnology and Food Microbiology Divisions. He has held a number of offices from Councilor to Chair in the Biotechnology Division, and served on the Executive Committee of the Food Microbiology and Biotechnology Divisions. At the national level, he was a member of the 1992–94 Volunteered Technical Papers Committee, and an IFT Scientific Lecturer (1994–96). 

2000 Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award
JOE M. REGENSTEIN, Professor of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., received the 2000 Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award for unselfish dedication and pursuit of humanitarian ideals that contributed to the well-being of the food industry, academia, students, and the public at large. 

He has made measurable contributions to the well being of the food industry and the public on the subject of kosher and religious foods, being the leading authority in this area. Kosher products, produced under very strict rules, have grown in excess of 10% over the past five years as being of increased interest to vegetarians and people with allergies as well as those of the Jewish faith, and Regenstein’s work ensures that kosher dietary law is better understood by both consumers and the food industry. He has been involved in the U.S. military’s Multi-Faith MRE (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) rations program, and served from 1986 to 1994 on the New York Governor’s Kosher Food Advisory Council. 

One of Regenstein’s hallmarks is his tireless work with students at Cornell. His door is always open and the courses he teaches are unique and challenging. He has served as the Cornell faculty advisor for their IFT Food Science Club’s Product Development team (an often-winning team), advisor to the Agricultural College’s honor society, and advisor to a group trying to restore the Cornell chapter of Phi Tau Sigma. He has also been an advisor to the Food Science Club and the Center for Jewish Living and Hillel at Cornell. 

Regenstein became active in IFT very early in his academic career, and encourages his students to do the same. Many have followed his example. He has held every elected office in the Central New York Section and is still active on the section’s Executive Committee. He has been the Seafood Technology Division’s Newsletter Editor since 1982 and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Food Science, the Eastern Food Science Conference Program Committee, the 50th Anniversary Committee’s Student Activities Subcommittee (1985–89), and the Basic Symposium Committee. He was Chair of the Long-Range Planning Subcommittee, helped develop the Institute’s Policies and Procedures Manual, and currently serves on the Task Force for Implementation of the New Governance Structure. He also serves on the IFT Research Committee and the ad hoc Committee for a Washington Presence. He has twice been an IFT Scientific Lecturer, and was the first IFT Congressional Science Fellow (1996–97), working as a legislative assistant for agriculture, food safety, fisheries, aquaculture, and clean air. He has built on this experience in his teaching, off-campus lectures, and as IFT’s liaison to CAST, the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. He is a founding member, and the newsletter editor, of IFT’s newest Division, Religious and Ethnic Foods, and has organized many symposia on this subject. 

Regenstein received his Ph.D. in biophysics from Brandeis University in 1974. He joined IFT in 1975 and was named an IFT Fellow in 1995. 

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2000 Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredient Safety Award
RICHARD L. HALL, Senior Scientific Advisor of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers’ Association (FEMA), was the first recipient of the Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredient Safety Award, newly established in 2000. The award honors an IFT member for his or her contribution to the scientific knowledge of food ingredient safety or for leadership in establishing principles for food ingredient safety evaluation or regulation. 

Along with Dr. Oser, Richard Hall made significant contributions to food ingredient safety, beginning with the development of FEMA’s Expert Panel and the safety review of flavor ingredients. With Dr. Oser, he developed the procedure for judging flavoring ingredients to be “generally recognized as safe (GRAS)” under the 1958 Food Additives Amendment to the Food and Drug Act. Their landmark articles published in the early 1960s outlined principles for the evaluation of the safety of flavor ingredients. These principles, with modifications, have been in use ever since by regulatory groups around the world. He chaired the scientific committee at FEMA that continued to develop scientific bases for the evaluation of the safety of food and flavor ingredients, and is still involved in the support of these safety issues as a Senior Scientific Advisor to FEMA and to their Safety Evaluation Coordination Committee. 

He was involved in establishing the food safety and nutrition information program that continues today as IFT’s Scientific Communications Department. A Past President, he continues to represent IFT as a highly regarded speaker for food and food ingredient safety. Today, the role and safety of genetically modified foodstuffs is undergoing a worldwide scrutiny. Hall’s involvement in the development of basic principles for evaluating the safety of these foodstuffs has contributed greatly to the understanding of genetically modified foods and has been a major factor in the way any food product or ingredient may be evaluated for safety. From 1988 to 1991, he chaired the International Food Biotechnology Council, which produced principles used around the world to establish safety rules for these foodstuffs. His work is expected to help put the worldwide debate on GMOs into proper scientific perspective. 

Hall received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1951 and joined McCormick & Co., Inc., where he remained until his retirement in 1988 as Vice President, Science and Technology. He has been an IFT member since 1950, and was named an IFT Fellow in 1974. His many awards include the Nicolas Appert Achievement Award in 1977, the IFT International Award in 1986, and the Carl R. Fellers Award in 1990. A past president of IFT, Hall currently serves as IFT Treasurer. 

2000 Marcel Loncin Research Prize
SYED S.H. RIZVI, Professor of Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., received this year’s Marcel Loncin Research Prize. Established in 1994 to fund research, the prize is administered through the IFT Foundation and will be awarded every two years to an IFT member who is a scientist or engineer conducting basic chemistry/physics/engineering research applied to food processing and improvement of food quality. The research proposal must show potential cross-fertilization and cooperation among academia, the food industry, and government organizations where possible, and the recipient of the prize must present the results of his or her research at the IFT Annual Meeting the third year after receiving the prize. 

Thermoplastic extrusion is widely used to manufacture expanded, coarsely structured products like breakfast cereals and snack foods. High-pressure extrusion processing with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) has opened up possibilities for a new generation of microcellular products produced at both low shear and low temperatures. A low-temperature and low-shear extrusion technology, called SCFX, has been developed that involves injection of SC-CO₂. The goal of the proposed study is to develop a fundamental understanding of the process and to clarify the relationship between solubility of solutes and pressure drop effects on nucleation, cell growth, and solute deposition. Specific goals are to (1) quantify the solubility of fluorescent flavorings and solutes in SC-CO₂, (2) generate starch-based extrudates with varying cellular structures using SC-CO₂ expansion, and (3) investigate and quantify flavoring and lipid deposition on internal cell walls in SCFX extrudates by fluorescent and confocal microscopic evaluation. 

By following various experimental approaches, Rizvi expects to produce a unique way to manufacture flavorful microcellular extrudates of different textural and mechanical properties. This novel approach to making extruded foods more nutritious and flavorful is likely to open new generations of food products. 

Rizvi earned his Master of Engineering (Chemical Engr.) from the University of Toronto, Canada, and his Ph.D. in food science and technology from The Ohio State University, Columbus. 

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2000 Industrial Achievement Award
Sunphenon DCF-1 (Decaf Green Tea Polyphenols)

Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd. was recipient of the 2000 Industrial Achievement Award. This award recognizes and honors developers of an outstanding food process or product which represents a significant advance in the application of food technology to food production, and which has been successfully applied in actual commercial operation for at least six months prior to December 1 of the year in which the nomination is submitted. 

This year’s award was presented for the launching and commercialization of decaffeinated green tea polyphenols/catechnins. Polyphenols from green tea extracts have been shown to have various biochemical and physiological functions; however, green tea leaves contain relatively high levels of caffeine. The caffeine content of green tea leaves sometimes reaches 5% at maximum, while in comparison, coffee beans are usually around 1.5%. Since caffeine causes irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and sleeplessness in some people, it is helpful that caffeine be removed when green tea extract is used as material for functional and health foods. 

In 1996, Taiyo Kagaku launched Sunphenon ® DCF-1, decaffeinated green tea polyphenols. This product is said to offer the food industry an opportunity for designing foods, which target improved functionality, nutrition, and prevention of diseases, deodorizing activity, and oxidative stability. Examples of potential applications of the product include beverages, confectionery, health foods, and supplements.

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The Institute of Food Technologists’ Achievement Awards Description and Nomination Form is available for the 2001 Award Year. Deadline for the receipt of nominations is December 1, 2000. You can obtain the information by visiting the IFT Web site at www.ift.org, by using the IFT e-XPRESS fax-on-demand service at any time by dialing 800-234-0270 in the United States and Canada or 650-556-9176 elsewhere and requesting document 3520, or writing to Patti Pagliuco at the Institute of Food Technologists, 221 N. LaSalle St., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60601 (e-mail [email protected]).

by BETSY BAIRD
Assistant Editor