Newswise — Experts from industry, government and academia will gather at IFT's 2008 Annual Meeting and Food Expo taking place June 28 - July 1 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA to share research and discuss the current status of food science and technology.
Now in its 68th year, the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo ® is the largest annual scientific meeting and technical exposition of its kind. Last year the Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago attracted nearly 20,000 attendees. This year more than 1,000 scientific and technical presentations will be given, while the Food Expo ® will feature nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies. Attendees include professionals in R&D and other scientific/technical positions, as well as in corporate management, packaging, nutrition, purchasing, higher education, government/regulatory, and several other scientific disciplines.
This year's annual meeting will cover a variety of topics ranging from nutrition and new products to agroterrorism and food safety. Highlights of this year's AMFE Scientific & Educational programming include:
Sunday, June 29 "¢ Organic foods: Perceptions vs. reality today and tomorrowThe Organic Trade Association reported that the sale of organic foods totaled $16.7 billion during 2006, an annual growth rate of 21 percent. What does the "Certified Organic" designation mean and who certifies the foods? What are the various types or classes of organic foods and how do they differ?
"¢ What is natural?There are no specific regulations standardizing the term natural, each individual company's regulatory group has to come up with its own definition, which has caused confusion in the food industry. Find out about the current state of regulations and policies regarding the use of the term "natural."
"¢ Setting priorities for food safety: Resources, risks and challenges for the next decadeIn a world of expanding food supplies, increasing food recalls and shrinking budgets, setting priorities to insure a safe food supply and protect public health becomes challenging. Ensuring the safety of the U.S. food supply, no matter where it comes from is a responsibility shared by all food industry stakeholders. In this session, attendees will hear about needs and concerns, and how they have and can affect the prioritization and allocation of limited resources.
"¢ Tropical fruits: Exploring the path to consumer discoveryWith recent market advances for many previously unheard of fruits and a growing global supply chain, many tropical fruits are now available year-round. This session will identify new tropical fruits and their health-promoting compounds. "¢ Searching for the fountain of youth: Nutrition intervention is agingPresenters will address innovative ways to reduce calories in the diet. A second topic of this session will be the neuroprotective activities of fruit and vegetable extracts.
"¢ Fatty acids in our foods: New frontiers in health and functionalityAn overview of the role of specific fatty acids in health and chronic disease will be highlighted and an update on dietary guidance will also be discussed.
"¢ Carbohydrates and digestive health Carbohydrates are a diverse set of compounds that are well known as nutritive ingredients to provide energy such as sugars and starches. Lesser known, but emerging, are carbohydrates that provide digestive health benefits such as enhanced immune system, mineral adsorption, and colonic health in general. Speakers will provide a broad view of carbohydrates for digestive health
Monday, June 30
"¢ Bioactive components of mushrooms of nutritional or medicinal importance in functional foodsFour presenters will discuss their research highlighting the importance of including various mushrooms in the diet. This session will take a closer look at the benefits of ergothioneine (ERG), an antioxidant produced primarily by fungi.
"¢ Federal Bureau of Investigation WMD countermeasure programs: Agroterrorism and infrastructure, chemical counterterrorism, and biological counterterrorismThe WMD Countermeasures Unit (WMDCU) targets scientific aspects of threats encountered by the FBI. WMDCU manages counterterrorism programs for agroterrorism, bioterrorism, chemical counterterrorism, and nuclear/radiological WMD issues within the FBI. Representatives will provide a FBI threat briefing.
"¢ Consumers' refrigerators: A danger zone?The popularity of convenience foods has led to increased consumption of refrigerated ready-to-eat (RTE) foods such as bagged salads, precut fresh fruits and vegetable and processed meat and poultry products. Refrigerated RTE foods can become contaminated with harmful foodborne pathogens. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration will provide consumers with guidelines for safe storage and handling of refrigerated RTE foods.
"¢ Functionality and nutritional benefits of new dietary fiber sourcesNewer sources of fiber, such as fenugreek fiber, have been shown to have great health and nutritional efficacy. This session will highlight new fiber sources and their nutritional and health benefits.
"¢ Presentation: Listeria monocytogenes control in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products Listeria monocytogenes contamination of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products continues to be an issue despite the numerous initiatives taken by they industry. Researchers will present new food safety messages for minimizing the risk among high risk patients/consumers.
Tuesday, July 1
"¢ Dairy and weight management: Bridging the gap between nutrition science and consumer behaviorA discussion of the epidemiological link between dairy and weight; research from human clinical trials will also be presented that demonstrates a significant association between dairy food consumption within a moderate energy restriction and increase weight and fat loss. Approaches to developing reduced fat/calorie dairy products that will be accepted by the consumer will be discussed.
"¢ Consumer research meets innovation: A decade of consumer insights on food safety and nutrition drives product development and health educationThis symposium will cover a decade's worth of quantitative and qualitative studies conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation which provides consumer insights on key topics related to food safety, nutrition, and health.
"¢ Development of a system to assure the safety of imported foods and ingredientsRecently, there has been much discussion regarding the safety of imported foods, diet supplements and their ingredients. Melamine, lead, pesticide residues, and other chemical contaminants and adulterants have generated significant publicity and concern for the safety of the worldwide food supply. This symposium will not only delineate key issues surrounding the problem, but it will outline a system to monitor and provide greater assurance of the quality of imported items.
Interviews with IFT spokespersons and presenters may be arranged by contacting IFT's media relations department at [email protected]. For more information about the Annual Meeting & Food Expo ® please visit http://www.am-fe.ift.org/cms/. Here, visitors can learn more about additional symposiums, panel discussions, poster presentations and roundtables and plan a customized program schedule
About IFT
Founded in 1939, and with world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the Institute of Food Technologist is a not-for-profit international scientific society with 22,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in the industry, academia and government. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues. For more on IFT, visit http://www.ift.org.
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