PRESIDENT’S PAGE

What Happens in Las Vegas Doesn't Stay There
IFT’s Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO® offers much to take home: New ideas and directions from the technical papers and exhibits, Global new product trends, Product development challenges, New Hall of Honor awards program, . . . and much more for IFT in 2004!

The commercials say: "What happens in Las Vegas stays there." Not when IFT's 64th Annual Meeting + Food Expo takes place in Las Vegas, July 12–16.

Not for IFTers who want to hear directly from keynote speaker Joel Barker—the "Paradigm Man"—about technEcologies™ and the implications of the new clusters of technologies. There will be many ideas to "take home."

Not for IFTers who are interested in the latest update on new products from around the world and want to taste and sample some of the more than 50 products brought to the Food Expo floor in one of the new special pavilions there.

Not for IFTers who are learning about or following the food science–culinary team approach for developing new products—combining the disciplines of food science and culinary expertise and innovation—at another of the special pavilions on the Food Expo floor.

Not for IFTers after they walk along the newly inaugurated Hall of Honor awards recognition area in the Convention Center, a place of utmost distinction identifying new and past leaders in food science and technology. Not only will the 2004 IFT Achievement Award winners and newly elected Fellows be prominently honored there, but also Section and Division members who have shown exceptional efforts in volunteerism, along with past IFT award winners.

There will be uncountable thousands and thousands of new ideas and directions that result from the almost 2,000 papers/programs being presented and from the nearly 2,000 Food Expo booths showcasing the newest developments from companies around the world.

This issue of Food Technology is your Preview of the IFT Annual Meeting + Food Expo. In it, you will find the complete technical program and the complete list of exhibitors as of press time, as well as the editors’ highlights of the papers and exhibits related to ingredients, nutraceuticals, laboratory, processing, packaging, and services. Use it to plan ahead of time what you want to attend during this year’s event and what you want to take home from Las Vegas.

As in the past, IFT's Annual Meeting + Food Expo will host more food professionals devoted to new product development, research, and sound science and technology than any other meeting in the world.

Las Vegas will be the place to be in 2004. I look forward to seeing you there!

by ANN HOLLINGSWORTH
IFT President, 2003–04
President, Better Built Foods
[email protected]