IFT WORLD
Alton Brown serves up “good eats” as Annual Meeting keynoter
Food is “a marvelous mouthful of science,” says the Web site of Alton Brown, celebrated host of the Food Network program “Good Eats.” Brown will open the 2006 IFT Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO® with a keynote address on Sunday morning, June 25, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
Known for challenging traditional models for cookbooks and cooking shows, Brown combines science, history, and culture to create innovative presentations and engaging programs and publications on recipes, processes, tools, and all things food.
As a commentator on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” and the author of four books and a journal for cooks, Brown promises his own unique humor and relevant perspectives for attendees and exhibitors. In his own style, Brown is part science, part history, part tools, and always exciting!
His first book, I’m Just Here for the Food, won the 2003 James Beard Award and features the stories behind favorite ingredients and interesting experiments. Other books include I’m Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking, Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen, I’m Just Here for the Food: Kitchen User’s Manual, and I’m Just Here for the Food: Cook’s Notes. A veteran of the restaurant industry with a background in cinematography and video production, Brown attended the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt.
Attend this can’t-miss, innovative session. Registration for the 2006 AMFE is open. Visit ift.org/amfe for information and more updates.
Vote for IFT’s national leaders
Are you ready to place your vote for our next leaders in the upcoming IFT National Leadership Election during the month of March?
In the upcoming online election, IFT voters will choose the President-Elect and two Membership Representatives to the Executive Committee. The nominees for President-Elect are John D. Floros (Pennsylvania State Univ.) and John Ruff (Kraft Foods). The nominees for Membership Representative are Douglas L. Archer (Univ. of Florida), Cameron Faustman (Univ. of Connecticut), Duane K. Larick (North Carolina State Univ.), and Denise M. Smith (Univ. of Idaho).
This year, Councilors will elect two Councilor Representatives to the Executive Committee and three members of the Nominations & Elections Committee. The nominees for Councilor Representative are Roger A. Clemens (Univ. of Southern California), Colin Dennis (Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association), Jozef L. Kokini (Rutgers Univ.), and Moira McGrath (OPUS International, Inc.). The nominees for the Nominations & Elections Committee are Linda L. Kragt (Morton Salt), Charles H. Manley (Takasago International Corp.), Steve Nojeim (Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.), and R. Paul Singh (Univ. of California).
Information about their experience is included within the online ballot when you access the voting site this month. The National Leadership Election begins on March 1 and ends on April 5 and is open to all IFT active/voting members.
IFT to work with FSIA on food safety training
In a “side event” of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization’s Regional Conference on Food Safety for the Americas and the Caribbean held in Costa Rica on December 6–9, 2005, participants engaged in dialogue about the strategic plan of the Food Safety Institute of the Americas (FSIA).
Established by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in 2004, FSIA is an innovative body that seeks to harmonize, develop, and distribute food safety information and education throughout the Americas through cooperation and collaboration. The University of Florida, Miami Dade College, and Michigan State University are the three FSIA academic partner institutions.
IFT Professional Member Douglas Archer, representing the University of Florida, reported that FSIA identified food safety legislation as the number-one priority needed among countries in the Western Hemisphere. To meet that need, he proposed placing a Codex Academy at the core of FSIA training and education that would enhance food legislation by focusing not just on adoption but on implementation of Codex codes. Archer noted that FSIA would coordinate with the Codex Alimentarius Commission, work closely with Codex Contact Points in the region, and cooperate with IFT through its Global Regulations and Policy Committee.
Following up on Archer’s remarks, Rosetta Newsome, IFT’s Director of Science and Communications, described IFT’s active involvement in Codex as a nongovernmental organization providing scientific and technical viewpoints on key issues. She said that it is envisioned that IFT will work with the University of Florida to develop the FSIA Codex training program, described by Archer as modules specially designed to match country need with country capacity.
IFTSA promotes food science
The IFT Student Association recently represented IFT at the National FFA (formerly the Future Farmers of America) Convention. IFTSA and the IFT Career Guidance Committee worked together to promote IFT and food science to the attendees. More than 53,000 attended the event, 90% of them students and 70% reporting that they intend to pursue a college education in agriculture or a related field.
Nearly 300 science educators visited the booth to receive IFT Career Guidance materials and information about IFT, the IFT Foundation, and the IFT–Discovery Education joint project. For more information about that project, visit www.ift.org.
Lund appointed to advisory board
Daryl B. Lund, Professor of Food Science and Executive Director, North Central Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors, at the University of Wisconsin, has been appointed to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board.
The board advises the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and land-grant colleges and universities on policies for food and agricultural research, education, extension, and economics.
Lund is a Professional Member and Fellow of IFT, a Past President of IFT, and Editor-in-Chief of IFT’s scientific journals.
Chism replaces Iwaoka at JFSE
Grady W. Chism III, Professor Emeritus at Ohio State University, has been named Scientifi c Editor of IFT’s online Journal of Food Science Education, replacing Wayne Iwaoka, who has decided to take a new role with his current employer, the University of Hawaii.
Visit www.ift.org to access the January 2006 issue of JFSE and read editorials by Iwaoka, Chism, and Editor-in-Chief Daryl Lund about the change.
In Memoriam
Wilbur A. Gould was elected a Fellow of IFT in 1980 and won IFT’s Nicholas Appert Award in 1993. He was Professor of Food Processing and Technology at Ohio State University. The university’s Wilbur A. Gould Food Industries Center was named for him. He authored or coauthored many articles, books, reports, and manuals.
William M. Roberts was elected a Fellow of IFT in 1975. As a faculty member of North Carolina State University, he helped to create the Dept. of Food Science. He became the first head of the department, where he served until his retirement in 1980. He shared his expertise in dairy science with other researchers and government agencies.
D.K. Salunkhe was elected a Fellow of IFT in 1980. A Professor Emeritus at Utah State University, he was a founding member of the university’s Dept. of Nutrition and Food Science and Technology. He authored more than 500 scientific papers and 26 textbooks and was recognized as one of the most highly cited researchers by the Institute of Science Information.
Betty M. Watts was the first woman elected a Fellow of IFT (1970). She was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Florida State University and was noted for her work on lipid oxidation and antioxidants in meat and seafood. She also conducted research on irradiation preservation of food. She authored more than 100 research publications.