Tecnoalimentica Ltda. Receives 2020 IFT/ACTA Food Industry Innovation Award

CHICAGO – Oct. 21, 2020 – The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) honored three companies— Tecnoalimentica Ltda., Alianza Team and DSM Nutritional Products—for outstanding innovation achievements as part of the Colombian Association of Food Science and Technology’s (ACTA) biennial event, CONACTA, which was held virtually this year. The IFT/ACTA Food Industry Innovation Award celebrates innovation in product, ingredients, packaging and technology, and submissions were judged by a panel of independent experts selected by IFT and ACTA.

“Scientific advancement is an essential part of a safe, sustainable, and nutritious food supply system. Our award, in conjunction with ACTA, aims to spotlight initiatives that are solving problems across the food chain through innovative methods,” said IFT CEO Christie Tarantino-Dean.

Tecnoalimentica Ltda. captured the award for their industrial meat cooking technique, precooked meat for pizza and hotel restaurants, which provides convenient and safely cooked meat.

“The Colombian Association of Food Science and Technology (ACTA) is proud that the food industry in Colombia is showing a growing interest in participating in this award established four years ago together with the IFT,” said Secretary of the Board for ACTA Jorge Cabrera. “It means that, step by step, this award is becoming an important part of our biennial International Congress on Food Science and Technology (CONACTA), which in this year reached its thirteenth edition, and also shows that innovation is becoming an important factor in the growth and development of the Colombian food industry.”

The Nutritional Index by Team Solutions at Alianza Team and Rice Forte-Fortified Rice by DSM Nutritional Products both received honorable mentions.

The Nutritional Index is a tool that analyzes all products from Colombia, Mexico and Chile across ten different categories to determine the nutritional quality of brands and their competitive environment. The Nutritional Index also evaluates the consumer impact of current labeling compared to prospective labeling. The purpose of the tool is to find better nutritional balances in foods according to the category to which they correspond.

The Rice Forte-Fortified Rice by DSM Nutritional blends vitamins and minerals with broken-down rice and safely locks in nutrients when new kernels are produced through hot extrusion. The fortified rice looks, cooks and tastes just like its unfortified counterpart. Boosting the nutritional value of rice has the potential to significantly benefit the health of millions of vulnerable people worldwide. 

About IFT
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a global organization of approximately 13,000 individual members from 95 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.

About ACTA

ACTA, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization devoted to the update and diffusion of the scientific and technological knowledge in Food Science, Food Engineering, Food Technology, Food Safety and Nutrition among professionals, industries, universities and organizations linked to the agri-food sector and food industries in Colombia, with a social focus and independent criteria. Through all the activities that ACTA has carried out during its existence like seminars, symposia, congresses and courses both at national and international level, ACTA is considered by the industry, academy and government agencies as an organization that provides the proper space for discussion based on scientific agencies on different aspect of food science, technology, food and nutrition and food safety.