IFT NEWS

Nominees for IFT officers announced
The IFT Tellers Committee has announced that this year’s nominees for IFT President-Elect are Malcolm C. Bourne and Herbert Stone. Ballots were mailed December 2, 2002, and must be received by IFT by February 1, 2003.

Malcolm C. Bourne is an Emeritus Professor of Food Science at Cornell University. He holds a Ph.D. in agricultural chemistry from the University of California, Davis.

Bourne began his career as Chief Chemist at Brookers Australia Ltd. in 1949–58. He then served as a Research Assistant at UC Davis from 1959 to 1962. He became a Visiting Professor at the University of Philippines from 1969 to 1971 and served as Consultant to U.S. Agency for International Development in 1976. He joined the faculty of Cornell University in 1962, where he still serves as an active Emeritus Professor.

An active member of IFT, Bourne has served on a number of national committees, including as Membership Representative to the Executive Committee; Liaison to the Education Committee; Awards Committee; IFT Delegate to IUFoST and Chair of Delegates; Chair, Task Force on Selection of IFT Delegates to IUFoST. He has also served on the National Academy of Sciences Liaison Committee, Fellows Affairs Committee (Chair 1995), Committee on International Relations (Chair 1991), ad hoc Committee regarding potential meeting in the United Kingdom, Program Committee, and Undergraduate Awards Committee (Chair 1968).

Bourne is also active in the International Division, where he has served on the Executive Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, and Religious and Ethnic Foods Executive Committee. He is also serving as Division Secretary until 2003. He is also a member of the Fruit and Vegetable Products and Religious and Ethnic Foods Divisions, as well as the Western New York Section. Bourne won the IFT International Award in 1992, was elected a Fellow in 1985, and served as an IFT Scientific Lecturer in 1967–68 and 1984–87.

In addition to IFT, Bourne belongs to a number of other scientific and professional organizations, including the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, where he was elected an Inaugural Fellow in 1998 and is serving as President-Elect of the Executive Committee until 2003. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology and a Fellow of the UK Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Herbert Stone is President and Co-Founder of Tragon Corp. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis.

He served as Department Chair at Stanford Research Institute from 1962 to 1974. He was also President and Co-Founder of Etel Inc. from 1978 to 1982.

An active member of IFT, Stone has served on a number of committees, including the Task Force on Electronic News Magazine (Chair 2000); Editorial Board of World of Food Science Magazine (Chair 2000); ad hoc Committee on IUFoST (Chair 1997-99); Publications Committee; Goal D Task Force on Strategic Plan (Chair 1998); Publications Committee (Chair 2001–02); Executive Committee (Membership Representative 1994–97); Fellows Affairs Committee (Chair 1992–93); Fellows’ Affairs Award Jury; Sensory Evaluation Committee; Long Range Planning Subcommittee (Chair 1992–96); Task Force on World Sensory Net; Student Awards Committee; and Committee on Nominations and Elections. He also served as a Scientific Lecturer in 1978–80 and 1996–98 and as Associate Editor of the Journal of Food Science from 2000 to the present.

Stone is also active in the Marketing and Management Division, where he served as Chair, and the Sensory Evaluation Division, where he has served as Chair, Co-Founder, Alternate Councilor, and Executive Committee Member. He has also been a member of the Northeast Section and the Northern California Section, where he has served as Chair of the Section Coordinating Committee.

Stone has received a number of honors, including being elected an IFT Fellow in 1984 and a Fellow of the UK Institute of Food Science and Technology in 2001. In addition to IFT activities, Stone is active in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, Phi Tau Sigma, American Society for Enology and Viticulture, American Chemosensory Society, and European Chemoreception Research Organization.

The Tellers Committee also announced that the nominees for Membership Representative to the Executive Committee are Michele A. Buchanan, Pamela D. Tom, Nancy E. Nagle, and Christine M. Bruhn. They also announced that Susan L. Hefle and Ellen Lauber were elected Councilor Representatives to the Executive Committee. R.B. Sleeth, Daryl Lund, and Bruce R. Stillings were elected Members of the Committee on Nominations and Elections.

Summit Conferences to Define Research Needs
Two conferences designed to facilitate the interchange of information among scientists conducting basic research and those conducting applied research will be presented in Orlando, Fla., in January 2003. Sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists, the Summit Conferences are designed to define research needs in the field of food science and technology.

The first conference, “Rapid Measurement of Bacterial Spores and Other Dormant Difficult-to-Measure Microorganisms—Emphasizing Quantitative Methods and Nanotechnology,” will be held on January 12–14, and the second, “Kinetics of Inactivation of Microbial Populations—Emphasizing Models for Non-Log-Linear Microbial Curves,” will be held on January 14–16.

The conferences will feature in-depth coverage of each topic; use world-class researchers as speakers, discussants, and resources; and limit attendance to facilitate effective discussions. The program will not only cover university research but also encourage inputs from industry and government sources.

For program information, registration, and hotel reservation details, contact Laurie Trentz, IFT Registration and Meeting Planner, at 312-782-8424 or [email protected].

IFT takes position on acrylamide, organic issues
The Institute of Food Technologists released two press releases in November, taking a stand on the issues of whether acrylamide in high-heated, high-carbohydrate foods is dangerous and whether purchasing organically grown produce is necessary for safety or nutritional reasons.

In its November 6 press release, IFT stated that consumers do not need to fear acrylamide in high-heated, high carbohydrate foods as long as they maintain a well-balanced diet. Acrylamide is a known carcinogen when exposed to laboratory animals in large quantities. It was discovered recently to exist in varying levels in high-carbohydrate foods cooked at high temperatures, such as fried potatoes, potato chips, and breads.

IFT recognizes that the important areas for study include dietary exposure levels; toxicological and metabolic consequences; and learning how acrylamide is formed from natural components. Until conclusions can be properly formulated, IFT recommends following nutritional guidelines with a balanced diet that includes these foods in moderation.

In its November 5 release, IFT stated 5 that organic foods are not superior in nutritional quality or safety when compared to conventional foods, yet organics do have the potential for greater pathogen contamination. Thus, purchasing organically grown produce is not necessary for safety or nutritional reasons. IFT food science expert Carl Winter, a Professor at the University of California at Davis and Director of the university’s FoodSafe Program, supports careful study of the acrylamide connection to food.“The most important thing is not the presence or absence of any type of ingredient, but how much is there,” he said, noting that there are risks associated with eating any foods. IFT food science expert Mary Ellen Camire, a Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine, believes the immense nutritional benefits of grains and potatoes offset any minuscule contaminants they may also contain.“We eat a lot of unusual chemicals, but that’s what food is, a complex mixture of chemicals,” she said. “What’s important is getting a balance of what’s best.”The release stated that neither organic nor conventionally grown foods are free from pesticides, and scientific evidence indicates that health risks associated with disease-causing microorganisms are far greater than risks associated with pesticide residues, which are negligible. In its most recent Expert Report, IFT revealed that scientific information is insufficient to ensure that foodborne pathogens are killed during composting and applying manure, a significant vehicle for pathogens and the major source of fertilizer used for growing organic produce. “Organics cannot supply foods always free from pathogens or pesticides and cannot provide our nation with a more nutritional, diverse, and safe food supply than we currently enjoy,” said IFT President Mark McLellan, an expert on agricultural methods and director of the Institute of Food Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University. “Conventionally grown foods that utilize well-researched techniques including biotechnology benefit all consumers worldwide with a more abundant and economical food supply, foods of enhanced nutritional quality, and fresh fruits and vegetables with improved shelf life.”IFT supports the techniques of rDNA biotechnology which significantly reduces or eliminates the application of pesticides.

February 1 Deadline for World Congress Abstracts
The deadline for receipt of 300-word abstracts for poster papers to be considered for presentation at the 12th World Congress of Food Science and Technology is February 1, 2003. The World Congress, sponsored by the International Union of Food Science and Technology and hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists, will be presented in Chicago, Ill., on July 16–20, 2003, immediately following the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo at the same location. Details are available on the IUFoST World Congress Web site at www.worldfoodscience.org/worldcongress.

SECTION & DIVISION PEOPLE
Local meetings offer a wide variety of “flavors”
Recent meetings of the Florida, Wisconsin, Lake Erie, and Chicago Sections of IFT demonstrate how Section leaders have made use of their creativity in arranging meetings in a wide range of “flavors,” from spicy to sweet.

• The Florida Section held its final meeting of the 2001–02 program year in May at the historic Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, Fla. With Cuban cuisine, an impressive display of Flamenco dancers, and the sweet-and-sour tones of the ever popular Carl Winter, the meeting was delightfully spicy.

Section Chair Doreen Barrowman said that all six of the year’s meetings had record attendance. She attributes this success to the efforts of Mark Walsh, Chair-Elect. Walsh’s philosophy when planning meetings is that while “recognizing the increased demands each of us face in our professional and personal lives, we must encourage members to participate in monthly Section IFT meetings,” he said. “They do provide many intangible benefits.”

Among these benefits is networking. “This exchange of information and relationships nurtures both the young professional and seasoned veteran,” Walsh said.

The meetings also provide the Section with an opportunity to recognize its members. “The Section must use these meetings as a vehicle to publicly honor the professional and scholastic achievements of its membership,” he said.

But it is the social aspect of the meetings that make them fun and worthwhile, he added. And judging by the high number of spouses that attend the meetings, the Section is meeting this goal.

A lot of thought goes into the planning of events, he said. “Each event must be carefully considered to offer unique venues in convenient locations, to select stimulating speakers, and to provide a value factor in accordance with a reasonably priced meeting fee,” he said. “It is very much like marketing a product; if you put together four or five high-caliber meetings, you will see return consumers as well as new ones—in our case, members!”

• Prior to its fall dinner meeting, the Wisconsin Section held its first-ever Town Hall Meeting. Members were invited to discuss “What IFT Can Do to Better Help Individual Sections and Their Members.” Topics included attendance at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo, exhibiting at Regional Section Suppliers’ Nights, issues involved in setting up effective Web sites and distributing electronic newsletters, and specific questions regarding the new IFT Strategic Plan. IFT staff and Bob Kaminski, member of the Committee on Sections and Divisions (CSD), were present to take note of the many valuable comments and suggestions made during the meeting and to bring them to the attention of IFT.

“Meetings of this type are an essential means of keeping local Section members connected to the Institute,” Section Chair Jan Miller said.

The meeting took a turn from the serious to the delicious with a Social Hour featuring wine and hors d’oeuvre. The Marriott Hotel in Waukesha, Wis., satisfied attendees’ culinary cravings by putting out a grand buffet, after which IFT Distinguished Lecturer Bob Campbell took the audience through his presentation of “How Foods Can Be Humorous.”

• A string quartet, champagne, and delicious appetizers set the tone for the elegant 35th Anniversary celebration held by the Lake Erie Section. Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, was the setting for an evening featuring the hidden talents of Section member Jim Kanner, who treated attendees to songs from selected operas, interspersed with details provided by Tim English, of Private Reserve wines, on the various wines served throughout the evening.

Section Chair Dave Popp said the real highlight of the evening was the presence of two of the Section’s founding members, Bill Dustman and Jim Chaney. The two founders were each gratefully presented with a token of the Section’s esteem, and both remarked that they were very pleased with the Section’s continued success.

Section member Jeff Gerdes of New Jersey offered high praise for the Section: “This Section holds some of the best meetings I’ve been to,” he said. “They are very innovative and have lots of energetic officers—that’s what makes the difference.”

The Section is certainly fortunate to have officers like Matt Silvaggio, who planned the event and called the work involved “a labor of love.”

• The Chicago Section’s kick-off event in September was one of the year’s sweetest meetings. “Chocolate has always had a strong presence in the food industry in Chicago,” Section Chair-Elect Sue Monckton said. Thus, it was no surprise that the event was held at the Field Museum’s Chocolate Exhibit. The location helped attract more sponsors and broader participation, she said. The meeting, called “Immerse Yourself in Chocolate,” is an ideal example of how the Chicago Section serves as “not only a community where people can gain technical knowledge, but also an environment where networking opportunities are possible while having fun,” said Section Chair Linda Perucca. She also applauded the efforts of Ellen Chamberlain, Chair of the event. “Ellen and her committee did a great job not only planning and executing the event, but also gaining corporate sponsorship to make the evening reasonably priced for attendees,” she said.

—Gail Wiseman, Field Services Manager

by SARA LANGEN
Assistant Editor