IFT Press Room

CHICAGO – IFT17: Go With Purpose, hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and held at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, highlighted the hottest food trends, the latest food products, and the most important developments in the science of food. More than 19,000 people attended the event from June 25-28 to attend scientific sessions, connect with colleagues, and discover new technologies on the expo floor.

  • Number of Attendees: 19,070
  • Number of Countries Represented: 91
  • Number of Student Registrants: 1,270
  • Number of Exhibitors: 1,154 
  • Number of Scientific Sessions: 118
  • Number of Poster Presentations: 713
  • Number of Speakers: 341
IFTNEXT officially launched at IFT17 and will continue throughout the year. Ingredion’s Platinum Innovation Sponsorship helps to fund IFTNEXT, an important new initiative focused on facilitating future-forward conversations, content, learning opportunities and competitions that explore how global, transdisciplinary collaboration can advance innovation to help solve real-world food-related challenges.

IFTNEXT highlights included Start-Up Alley, where entrepreneurs from around the world revealed their latest innovations in the science of food and discussed how to survive and thrive as a food startup. Innovation in protein was among the hot topics that emerged from IFT17, with consumers increasingly looking for alternative protein sources and evaluating them based on their impact on the environment and dietary choices.

Watch three IFTNEXT-powered Facebook Live videos: The Environmental Impacts of Shifting Diets, How to Survive and Thrive as a Food Startup and 3D Printed Beef-Based Meat Patties.

For a full event recap including video footage of featured sessions, please visit our IFT17 News website. Event photos and audio recordings of the scientific sessions are available by request.

IFT18 will be held in Chicago at McCormick Place, July 15-18, 2017.

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About IFT
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a global organization of 17,000 individual members from more than 100 countries committed to advancing the science of food. Since 1939, IFT has brought together the brightest minds in food science, technology and related professions from academia, government, and industry to solve the world’s greatest food challenges. Our organization works to ensure that our members have the resources they need to learn, grow, and advance the science of food as the population and the world evolve. We believe that science is essential to ensuring a global food supply that is sustainable, safe, nutritious, and accessible to all. For more information, please visit ift.org.


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