CHICAGO — "Your Network to the World of Food" is the theme of the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT's) 1997 Annual Meeting & FOOD EXPO June 14-18 in Orlando, Fla.
Awareness and inactivation of foodborne pathogens, development of new nutrient standards, nutrition labeling for low-fat and reduced-calorie foods, and international business opportunities for U.S. food companies are major topics of the four-day technical program at the Orange County Convention Center. Additional subjects include biotechnology, dietary supplements, fat substitutes, functional foods, product development, regulation of the citrus industry, sensory evaluation, and toxicology. The technical program, open from 9 AM to 4:30 PM June 15-17 and from 9 AM to noon on June 18, will feature more than 1,200 presentations of scientific papers as well as informal discussions on these and other topics.
Lowell Catlett, Ph.D., professor of Agricultural Economics and Business at New Mexico State University, will be the keynote speaker for the meeting's Opening Session on Sat., June 14 at 7 PM in the convention center auditorium. He will discuss the effect of what he calls today's "hyper-cyber economy" on the food industry. A consultant to the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Defense, and Labor, and many Fortune 500 companies, Catlett will address current and future changes in the private and public food sectors.
The Atwater Lecture, "The Food Supply, its Science, and Mankind: A Call for Unity," will take place on June 16 at 4:45 PM in Room 309. Dr. Sanford Miller, dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, will address international food trade in terms of science-based risk rather than the socially driven concept of safety. This lecture is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and IFT's Nutrition Division.
Hot Topics include "Women at the Helm: Gaining the Competitive Edge" (Session 1, June 15, 9 AM), "The Foodservice Industry: An Awakened Giant" (Session 24, June 16, 9 AM), and "International Market: A Shrinking World" (Session 47, June 17, 9 AM). Panels of food company executives in each session will facilitate in-depth discussions with participants on the current and future directions of their topics.
IFT's FOOD EXPO will be open from noon to 5:30 PM June 15-17 and 9 AM to 12:30 PM on June 18. It will include more than 2,400 exhibit booths displaying the latest in food products, ingredients, equipment, processes, and services. IFT Executive Director Daniel E. Weber projects that around 22,000 people will attend the event this year.
On June 13 and 14, prior to the Annual Meeting & FOOD EXPO, IFT will conduct a Basic Symposium on phase/state transitions in food and continuing education programs on ingredient technology; strategies for product development, consumer research, and sensory analysis; rapid microbial methods for assuring food safety and quality; and international food law. All of these courses will be held at the Clarion Plaza Hotel in Orlando.
"IFT's annual meeting brings together global leaders in food science and technology to address emerging issues and ways to optimize the quality of world food supplies," said IFT President Robert E. Smith.
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Founded in 1939, IFT is a non-profit scientific society with 28,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in industry, academia and government. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues.