IFT NEWS

Food Expo to Be Held Every Year
IFT’s Executive Committee on June 15 unanimously reaffirmed the IFT’s commitment to hold the IFT Food Expo® on an annual basis for years to come, and the IFT Council formally accepted this reaffirmation the next day. President Philip E. Nelson said that the reasons to remain an annual event are sound and numerous. “IFT is absolutely dedicated to providing the annual IFT Food Expo because that is what our buyer attendees demand, and it is what our supplier exhibitors deserve,” he said. “Active buyers need the annual Expo because it fits their purchasing practices, and sellers need to meet face-to-face with new prospects, current customers, and hard-to-reach buying teams that are all accessible at the Expo. Therefore, IFT will provide this unsurpassed opportunity to conduct business at the Expo every year.”

Other reasons Nelson cited are below:
· As a not-for-profit professional membership society, IFT exists to provide the services its members need. Every year, IFT members and registrants are enthusiastic about attending Food Expo, and on that basis, the organization has signed contracts with convention centers now through 2009.

· The IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo is essential to the industry’s educational, networking, and business environment, and Food Expo is cited as the primary reason for attending.

· For many of the 800+ exhibitors, Food Expo is their primary marketing activity of the year, and each year it attracts approximately 145 first-time exhibitors.

· As the largest annual gathering of key food product development and purchasing people, Food Expo offers the most efficient and cost-effective medium for suppliers to meet face-to-face with current and prospective customers—at a fraction of the cost of direct sales calls.

· Ninety-one percent of attendees go to Food Expo to exercise their buying power, while only 8% are called on by exhibitors’ salespersons each year, meaning Food Expo is the only opportunity most attendees and exhibitors have to meet face-to-face.

· Food Expo attendees play a major role in the introduction of more than 5,000 new food and beverage products each year, and they rely on Food Expo to help identify what’s new as they create next year’s food innovations.

· In an industry that is turbulent with mergers and acquisitions, Food Expo provides the forum to reconnect personnel in the fluctuating marketplace.

· Food Expo is held in different regions of the nation and annually attracts a surge of local buyers. Thus, exhibitors who miss a Food Expo may fail to impress many active buyers in that region.

· Eighty-five percent of the industry continuously look for new suppliers; 64% of attendees use Food Expo as a main source of new suppliers; and 77% find sources of new product information from peers who may have attended.

While acknowledging the continued commitment to providing annual the IFT Food Expo, the Executive Committee restated that it is pleased that every supplier has the freedom to participate in the annual IFT Food Expo as often as they wish.

Mark R. McLellan becomes IFT’s 2002–03 President
Mark R. McLellan, Director of the Institute of Food Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University, was chosen by the members of IFT to be President of the Institute of Food Technologists for 2002–03. He will succeed Philip E. Nelson as IFT’s 63rd President when he takes office September 1, 2002.

McLellan earned a Ph.D. in Food Science from Michigan State University in 1981. After graduating, he joined the faculty of Cornell University, where he later served as Chairman of the Food Science & Technology Dept. from 1995 to 1999 and as Director of the Cornell Institute of Food Science from 1997 to 1999. He then moved to his present position with Texas A&M University.

A recognized expert in the use of processing technologies for fruit and vegetables, McLellan has developed improvements in processing systems for fruit juices and other beverages. Although he specializes in juice and liquid food products, he has also worked in the puree, dried product, fresh storage, and packaging fields. He has published on such topics as packaging studies, methods in sensory analysis, ultrafiltration technology, freezing-point depression, and others. As an outgrowth of his technology assessment work, he has also become an expert in the area of computer technology and applications for the food industry.

In addition to his academic work, McLellan has been involved in a number of professional organizations. He was a founder of the Council of Food Science Administrators, which represents all food science programs across the country, and served as the council’s Chairman in 1998. He is also active in the American Frozen Food Institute, Sigma Xi, and the Instrument Society of America.

Since joining IFT in 1976, McLellan has served on a number of committees, including the Executive Committee, Scientific Lectureship Committee, ad hoc Committee on Information/Communication Systems, Information Systems Subcommittee, and ad hoc Committee on Publications. He has also been a Food Science Communicator, as well as an IFT Scientific Lecturer.

An active Section and Division member, McLellan has served on the Executive Committees of the Food Engineering Division and the Fruit & Vegetable Products Division, where he also served as Chair. He served as Chair and Councilor of the Western New York Section and Chair of the Western New York Food Industry Expo. Now a member of the Texas Section, he has served as Chairman of the section’s Food Industry Expo.

In his new leadership position, McLellan hopes to improve the support IFT gives to its members by strengthening and invigorating the Regional Sections. He believes it is time for IFT to look at new models of support and design for sections and to find ways to help them achieve growth and stability. Educating the consumer about food science is also high on his list of priorities—he sees IFT as the voice communicating common sense and sound science to consumers.

Hollingsworth chosen IFT President-Elect
C. Ann Hollingsworth, President, Better Built Foods, Carrollton, Ga., was chosen by the members of IFT to be President-Elect of the Institute of Food Technologists for 2002–03. She will succeed Mark R. McLellan as IFT’s 64th President when she takes office September 1, 2003.

Hollingsworth earned a Ph.D. in Animal Science/Meat Science from the University of Nebraska. She began her career as a research scientist at Armour Food Co. From there, she moved to a Research and Development Manager position at Bil Mar Foods, where she was promoted to Director of Research and Development. She also served as Vice President, Food Safety at Keystone Foods before moving to her current position.

Her IFT activities have included Council Representative to the Executive Committee and Chair of the Task Force on Enhancing Publication Efforts, Carl R. Fellers Award Jury, Education Committee, and Freshman/Sophomore Scholarship Awards Jury. She has also served on a number of other committees and task forces, including the Finance Committee, Continuing Education Committee, Task Force on Fellows’ Awards, Task Force on Food Safety Initiatives, Basic Symposium Committee, ad hoc Committee on Professional Identity, Calvert L. Willey Award Jury, Awards Committee, and Committee on Membership and Professional Affairs.

She has also been active in the Great Lakes and the Cactus Sections, as well as the Muscle Foods, Food Laws & Regulations, and Student Divisions, where she served in various leadership roles.

Hollingsworth has also been involved in a number of professional organizations, including Phi Tau Sigma (President and Councilor), American Meat Science Association (President and Member of Board of Directors), and American Meat Institute (Member of Board of Directors).

In her new leadership position within IFT, Hollingsworth hopes to help the organization continue to develop and evolve to meet future demands while maintaining its mission to advance the science and technology of food through the exchange of knowledge. She wants the organization to continue to improve its communication processes while taking advantage of technological advances, using the progress made in its scientific investigations as a bridge to greater understanding and collaboration in the global community. Strengthening IFT’s financial base through careful examination and ardent stewardship of its resources is also a goal.

Rooney receives Riester-Davis Award
Michael L. Rooney, Senior Principal Research Scientist at Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)—Food Science Australia, was named the IFT Food Packaging Division’s Riester-Davis Award winner for 2002.

The award recognizes lifetime achievement in food packaging technology. It was established in 1986 to memorialize Don Riester of American Can Co. and the Food and Drug Administration and Rees Davis of Continental Can and FDA, who helped found the Food Packaging Division. The award was presented during the Division’s Business meeting at the IFT Annual Meeting in June.

Rooney has played a leading role in establishing active packaging as a legitimate research and development field. He has encouraged and advised researchers and manufacturers around the world to investigate opportunities to enhance food quality maintenance via interaction between the package, the food it contains, and the storage environment.

After graduating with a B.S. from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, in 1965 and an M.S. in 1971, Rooney worked in surface coatings research, followed by edible oils development with Unilever. The combination of these experiences laid the foundation for a career in the packaging of oxygen-sensitive foods.

At CSIRO, Rooney has built a team of 10 scientists that provides a unique resource in this field. Rooney’s published research into oxygen-scavenging plastics since the late 1970s has helped to encourage others to develop alternative technologies, many of which are now reaching commercial fruition.

JFS establishes new page charge rate schedule, rates reduced for IFT members
IFT’s Publications Committee has established a new rate schedule for publishing in the Journal of Food Science. Papers submitted on or after September 1, 2002, will be charged the following page charges:
• For papers whose authors include at least one IFT member, the rate has been reduced from $70 to $65 per page for 4 or fewer pages and $100 per page for additional pages.

• For papers in which no author is an IFT member, the rate is $85 per page for 4 or fewer pages and $120 per page for additional pages.

Authors are strongly encouraged to consider the many benefits of IFT membership, as well as the importance of concise reporting of their research results.

The page count can be roughly precalculated as follows: A typically laidout journal page can include either 1,000 words of text, or 4 figures, or 5 tables, or approximately 60 references (currently papers average 28 references). For example, a paper with 2,300 words (including titles, byline, abstract, and keywords), 2 tables, 3 figures, and 28 references would fill 4 pages.

The Publications Committee is proud of improvements taking place in JFS, including the shortening of both the review and publishing processes, the increased number of papers published, and the quality of the research presented. The rate changes will both encourage more concise, quality writing, as well as boost IFT’s membership base.

Further author information can be found at www.ift.org/publications/jfs/sty-guid.shtml.

June/July 2002 JFS in print
The June/July 2002 issue of Journal of Food Science is now available. It features a Concise Review entitled “Water Desirable for the Human Body in Terms of Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) to pH Relationship” by S. Okouchi, M. Suzuki, K. Sugano, S. Kagamimori, and S. Ikeda and 62 other papers.

The “Industrial Aspects of Selected JFS Articles” page of that issue highlights four of the papers:

“Consumer Attitudes Toward Use of Probiotic Cultures” says that consumers who accept probiotic cultures as a health bonus want them in food (and not just in yogurt), but they don’t want them to change the taste of food and they don’t want to pay extra.

“Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Fatty Acid Composition of Yogurt Produced from Milk of Cows Fed Soy Oil and Conjugated Linoleic Acid” says that soy oil supplementation in feed increased CLA content in yogurt made from milk so produced. Whether consumers will pay more for yogurt or other dairy foods that have additional CLA is yet to be determined, but yogurt with increased probiotics, more calcium, and additional CLA may reach the status of a highly functional food in the near future.

“Overall Acceptability and Sensory Profiles of Peanut Spreads Fortified with Protein, Vitamins, and Minerals” describes the reaction of consumers to peanut spreads made by supplementing peanut-based products with soy. The development of a balanced peanut butter spread with the additional of vitamins and minerals (especially replacing the vitamin B complex lost in roasting and blanching peanuts) could improve the diets of children for whom peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the mainstay of acceptable diets.

“Impact of Juice Processing on Blueberry Anthocyanins and Polyphenolics: Comparison of Two Pretreatments” concludes that overall anthocyanin levels could be improved by heating the fruit during treatment. Retaining more of the antioxidants should improve the color and flavor of the concentrate, providing colorful and flavorful blueberry products.

The table of contents for the issue, as well as the abstracts of the papers, can be viewed—and searched electronically—via IFT’s Web site at www.ift.org/publications/jfs/index.shtml.

Abstract “help desk” available for 2003 Annual Meeting
Want to improve your chances of your paper’s being accepted for presentation at IFT’s 2003 Annual Meeting? Help is available.

A group of volunteers composed of experienced past authors from each of the IFT technical Divisions will provide that extra proofreading help that can make a difference. The Help program was established by the Technical Presentations Subcommittee (TPS) and approved by the Annual Meeting Committee. It is coordinated by Christine Bruhn of the University of California-Davis (phone 530-752-2774), a Past Chair of the TPS.

Those who would like to take advantage of the Help Desk service should first obtain a set of Guidelines for Preparation of Volunteer Abstracts for IFT’s Web site at www.ift.org or by calling the IFT office at 312-782-8424. The next step is to prepare the abstract according to the guidelines. Completed abstracts can be submitted through the IFT Web site prior to November 1. Requests for Help Desk assistance should be made at the time the completed abstract is submitted.

The Help Desk will evaluate the abstracts for appropriate use of English, communication effectiveness, and completion of required information, but the Help Adviser will not provide a scientific technical review. Contacting the Help Desk does not guarantee acceptance of an abstract, but it does provide comments to the author by November 15, which allows the author time to revise the abstract and resubmit it to IFT prior to the December 2 final deadline.

Those who would like to volunteer to serve on the Help Desk should contact their Division chair. The Division chair should then send Christine Bruhn (e-mail [email protected]) the name of one volunteer to serve as Help Advisor for that Division by October 1. Volunteers should not be serving as appointed Division TPS Review Representatives for the current 2003 Annual Meeting, but should have been a TPS reviewer in the past. The Help Desk will be provide with model abstracts and criteria for acceptance.

IFT offers two more e-mail newsletters
The Institute of Food Technologists has added two e-mail newsletters in addition to the IFT Weekly E-mail Newsletter.

The IFT Functional Foods Newsletter is a monthly electronic newsletter that provides information and news regarding nutrition, functional foods, and business developments in the dietary supplement and functional foods area of the food industry, which is experiencing a great amount of interest and growth among consumers. The newsletter is sponsored by Cargill Health and Food Technologies.

The IFT Quality Assurance Newsletter is a new electronic newsletter published quarterly or as needed. The goal is to provide information and updates about regulatory actions related to food labeling, nutrition, and dietary supplements, as well as educational materials and important announcements. The newsletter is sponsored by RQA, Inc.

The IFT Weekly E-mail Newsletter furnishes IFT members with the latest news and developments as well as meetings news on a weekly basis. The newsletter is sponsored by Avebe, Inc.

All three newsletters are available free of charge. To subscribe to the newsletters, visit www.ift.org.

by SARA LANGEN
Assistant Editor