New Nutrition Standards to Allow Healthier Options at Schools; Face-to-Face: Meet Guy Crosby

Luckily for you, IFT offers plenty of chances to mingle with other food professionals both in person and online. This month, IFT is hosting its annual Wellness conference in Rosemont, Ill., where attendees will be able to learn about emerging trends in the health and wellness sector. Or from the comfort of your desk, you can connect and share your opinion on the latest topics affecting the food industry by commenting on the IFT’s ePerspective blog. Recently, Joy Dubost, National Restaurant Association, offered here opinion of the new nutritional standards for schools. Additionally, get to know IFT’s Senior Associate Editor Don Pszczola though his witty food-themed blog, IngredienTalk, which is accessible to all IFT members. And, as always, meet a new IFT member every month in the Face-to-face series. This month, Guy Crosby, Science Editor for Cooks’s Illustrated Magazine, shares his passion for food science in the kitchen.

Ready, set, mingle!

New Nutrition Standards to Allow Healthier Options at Schools
On January 26, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) published revised nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. This final rule follows a proposal issued on Jan. 13, 2011. Last year, Joy Dubost, National Restaurant Assoc., wrote an ePerspective with her opinions on the proposal. Now that the standards have been published, Dubost offers a final look in a recent ePerspective post. This is the first time in more than 15 years the standards have been revised to better reflect evidence based science, including the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. What are your thoughts on the new nutrition standards? Share your thoughts at IFT’s ePerspective blog.

Face-to-Face: Meet Guy Crosby
In this month’s Face-to-Face series, we will be introducing you to Guy Crosby, Science Editor for Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. In addition, Crosby is Adjunct Associate Professor with the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. Among his varied interests, Crosby is fascinated with applying cooking science in the kitchen. He sees this trend impacting food science education with a growing interest in using food as the means to interest students in learning about science and math. Check out IFT’s Face-to-Face to learn more about Crosby’s interests.

IngredienTalk: A Cookie for All Teams
Every February people hold Super Bowl parties surrounded by foods such as chili or ribs. In a recent installment of the IngredienTalk blog, Senior Associate Editor Don Pszczola ponders the lack of themed bakery items surrounding this beloved sporting event. Bringing dessert back into the spotlight, Don presents some cookie concepts made with ingredients or flavors associated with the town that the teams represent. For example, how about serving Cheddar Cheese Cookies to cheer on Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers? The beauty of these themed cookie ideas is that they can transcend football season. How about baking some Pizza Cookies for the Chicago Cubs opening day? As an IFT member (login required), you can read all of Don’s blogs and get a discussion started with him and your colleagues by sharing your thoughts.

Wellness 12: March 28–29
IFT’s Wellness Conference takes place at the end of this month in Rosemont, Ill. The annual event offers attendees news about emerging trends, and information on how other organizations within the food industry are penetrating the health and wellness sector. Are you undecided on attending? Take a listen to a recent ePerspective audio interview with Linda Eatherton, Ketchum, who will be presenting some insightful consumer information at the closing session. She shares with listeners a taste of the results from a survey Ketchum conducted on what consumers will expect from food companies in the year 2020. And keep in mind, she is just one of the many captivating speakers to present at this year’s conference. It’s not too late to register, so please visit www.ift.org/wellness.

Kelly Hensel
Digital Media Editor
[email protected]