IFT is pleased to announce the 2011 Achievement Award winners and new IFT Fellows:

2011 IFT Achievement Award Winners
The 2011 IFT Achievement Awards recognize individuals and teams for remarkable contributions in research, applications, and service.

Babcock-Hart Award
Rui Hai Liu, Associate Professor, Cornell University

Research & Development Award
Micha Peleg, Professor, University of Massachusetts

Carl R. Fellers Award
Christine Bruhn, Cooperative Extension Specialist, University of California

Bor S. Luh International Award
Gleyn Bledsoe, Adjunct Professor, University of Idaho

Samuel Cate Prescott Award
Soo-Yeun Lee, Associate Professor, University of Illinois

Myron Solberg Award
Colin Dennis, Professor and Retired Chief Executive Officer, Campden BRI

Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award
MicroThermics, Inc.

William V. Cruess Award
Jeff Culbertson, Professor, Washington State University and University of Idaho

Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Award
Herbert Stone, Co-founder and Past President of Tragon Corporation

Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award
Fatemeh Malekian, Associate Professor, Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Nicholas Appert Award
Malcolm Bourne, Emeritus Professor of Food Science, Cornell University

Sensory and Consumer Sciences Achievement Award
Chris Findlay, President and Founder, Compusense, Inc.

Howard Schutz, Emeritus Professor, University of California Davis

2011 IFT Fellows
The IFT Fellow designation is an honor bestowed upon an IFT member by their peers, recognizing exemplary professionalism in the field of food science.

Shai Barbut, Professor, University of Guelph, Ontario

M. Susan Brewer, Professor, University of Illinois
Hongda Chen, National Program Leader for Bioprocessing Engineering & Nanotechnology, USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Catherine Donnelly, Professor, University of Vermont

Wayne Ellefson, Senior Client Manager, Covance Laboratories

Melvin Hunt, Emeritus Professor, Kansas State University

Kathryn L. Kotula, Senior Investigative Food Scientist, Investigative Food Sciences

F. Xavier Malcata, Dean and Professor, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Portugal

Herbert Ockerman, Professor, Ohio State University

Mickey Parish, Senior Advisor for Microbiology, U.S. Food & Drug Administration

Phil Perkins, Senior Vice President; Research, Development and Innovation; Bush Brothers & Company

Elliot Ryser, Professor, Michigan State University

Sheri Schellhaass, Vice President Research & Development, General Mills Inc.

Bernard van Lengerich, Chief Science Officer and Vice President, Technology Strategy, General Mills Inc.

Zata Vickers, Professor, University of Minnesota

Rickey Yada, Scientific Director of Advanced Foods and Material, Networks of Centres of Excellence, University of Guelph, Ontario

IFTSA Heart Healthy Product Development Competition
This year's inaugural IFTSA Heart Healthy Product Development Competition was sponsored by CanolaInfo. Final teams competed March 23 and 24 at the IFT Wellness Conference in Rosemont, IL.

Congratulations to the winning team from Louisiana State University that developed the shelf -stable bubble tea, "Ze-Ti," designed for the grab-and-go lifestyle.

Second Place Winner: Rutgers University—"HeartVest" 
Third Place Winner: Texas Tech University—"FruiTeeze"

For more information about the competition visit ift.org, or view the videos.

Join Us in New Orleans this Spring!
Register now to join your colleagues for unparalleled education, networking, and business development opportunities at our 2011 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo, June 11–14.

Make Your Plans Now, and Gain Big Benefits
It's not too early to make your decision to attend. Take advantage of great hotel options, a $100 advance registration discount and, when you register and book your hotel by April 22, a chance to win an Apple iPad! Plus, avoid the airfare increases rumored for this spring and summer when you make your flight reservations early.

As you register for the event, don't forget to take advantage of all of the education opportunities being offered in New Orleans, including the Scientific Program, Pre-Annual Meeting Short Courses, Technical Field Trips, and more. Plus, after you register, you'll have the opportunity to participate in your choice of two IFT webcasts for free.
For more information, visit ift.org/IFT11. We look forward to seeing you in the "Crescent City."

Deadline Nears for IFT Food Expo Innovation Awards Entries
The deadline to submit your entries to the IFT Food Expo Innovation Awards is fast approaching. Don't miss out on this opportunity to recognize your company's creative development efforts. The competition is open only to exhibiting companies at the 2011 IFT Food Expo in New Orleans, exhibiting June 12–14, 2011. The product, technology, ingredient, instrumentation, equipment, or service must have been commercially introduced since January 1, 2010. New applications of existing products/services that were commercially introduced since January 1, 2010, also are eligible.

All entries and supporting documentation must be submitted by Friday, April 15, 2011. All entry materials must be in English. There is no entry fee, and companies may submit more than one entry. Qualifying entries will be reviewed by an independent, expert panel of judges. Enter today.

Making a Career Change, Looking for Employment or Starting a Career?  Begin in New Orleans, Louisiana!
Arrive in New Orleans on Saturday, June 11, in time for IFT's  Career Fair at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center from Noon to 5:00 p.m.  The Career Fair is an excellent opportunity to meet informally with company representatives, learn about the company and what they look for in prospective candidates. There will be no formal interviews at this event, however feel free to bring your resume and leave a copy with company representatives. Mark your calendar and plan to attend this great networking event! 

Ready to interview?  The Employment Bureau will be available Sunday, June 12 through Tuesday, June 14 for face-to-face interviews.  Post your resume to the Career Center and flag it as an "Employment Bureau attendee." Questions? Please contact Nora at njschabold@ift.org.

Network with New Professionals in New Orleans
Are you in interested in earning a potential prize for networking with New Professionals at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo®?  A New Professional is anyone who has recently graduated or has been working in the food science profession for less than 10 years.

The New Professionals Pass is the opportunity to network with your fellow New Professionals at six various events and/or sessions in New Orleans. See onsite directory for actual sessions. Participants can pick up New Professional passes at the IFT registration booth. Questions? Please contact Anna Ylijoki at aylijoki@ift.org.

Share Your Expertise for the IFT 2012 Scientific Program
IFT needs your technical expertise to shape the focus and schedule for the 2012 IFT Annual Meeting Scientific Program Key Focus Area and Core Science Tracks. We are seeking IFT members to volunteer as track subpanel members. These subject matter experts ensure the submission of high-quality, multidisciplinary session proposals, serve as the review body for session proposals submitted to their track, and more. Volunteer today!

Agriculture, Food, Nutrition and Natural Resources R&D Round Table
The Agriculture, Food, Nutrition and Natural Resources R&D Round Table was held on March 15, 2011 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. The program combined presentations by science policy officials with reports on exemplary R&D case studies to raise the profile of agriculture, food, nutrition and natural resources research and development work throughout the public and private sectors. For more information visit ift.org.

IFT Provides Input to Regulatory Agencies
IFT took advantage of several opportunities this past month to provide comments on hot topics to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  To FDA, we expressed support of the proposed voluntary GRAS notification procedure, and commented on recordkeeping and records access requirements for food facilities. We provided a scientific viewpoint to the Food Advisory Committee on the safety of color additives. We also wrote the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), encouraging careful consideration of the potential for nanotechnology and other advancements that could positively impact the organic food system. IFT's positions and comments are readily accessible in the Public Policy & Regulations (PP&R) area of www.ift.org, specifically at http://www.ift.org/public-policy-and-regulations/advocacy/positions-and-comments.aspx.

FDA Contract
Work was completed this month on one of our contract task orders (#3) with the FDA.  A six-month task began in September, 2010 and entitled "Improving Data Quality for the Foreign Inspection Program." IFT identified, utilized and evaluated alternative sources for information about food manufacturing firms in three specific countries. IFT also provided overall suggestions about how the Agency can improve the quality of data used to contact foreign food firms.

Codex Participation
IFT participated in the February 21-25 meeting of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils, represented by Dr. Rodney J.H. Gray, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Martek Biosciences, and the IFT Codex Subject Expert (CSE) actively involved in the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA). Rodney and Gloria Brooks-Ray, IFT's CSE to the Codex Committee on Food Labeling, also participated in the March 14 – 18 meeting of the CCFA. Reports of these Codex meetings are accessible at in the PP&R area of www.ift.org, at http://www.ift.org/public-policy-and-regulations/advocacy/international-advocacy.aspx.

Manage the Frequency of Your IFT Community Alerts
All of IFT's division groups are now online at ift.org! If you're a member of a division group, you've probably noticed that you're receiving real-time e-mail alerts when something new is posted in that group.

You can determine the frequency with which you receive alerts, as well as set up your system to receive a daily or weekly digest of your groups' activities, by modifying your group settings.

To alter your settings, go to your group page, click on the green "Group Settings" tab, and adjust your alert/digest settings. If you have any questions about how to do this, please contact IFT Central at +1.312.782.8424 and they can assist you.

Media Relations Activities:

Colorless Food? We Blanch
New York Times, April 2, 2011
IFT Spokesperson Kantha Shelke, PhD, is quoted in this New York Times article on how the color of food often defines flavor.  "Color is such a crucial part of the eating experience that banning dyes would take much of the pleasure out of life," Shelke stated.

Does Guinness Travel Well?
A study in the March issue of the Journal of Food Science (JFS) provides some limited scientific evidence to support the theory among beer enthusiasts that Guinness actually tastes much better in Ireland than other parts of the world.  Press coverage of the study includes:

Interview with Daniel Kotz, Lead Author of Journal of Food Science Guinness Study
Spin South West Radio- Dublin, Ireland, March 18, 2011

Irish Beer Does Not Travel Well
DiscoveryNews, March 17, 2011

Researchers Ask Where is the Best Pint of Guinness?
MyFoxDC.com, March 17, 2011

Researchers Say Guinness More Enjoyable in Ireland
Miller-McCune magazine, March 16, 2011

How to Build a Better Irish Beer
Cosmic Log on MSNBC.com, March 16, 2011

Where to Get the Best Guinness!
MarcusSamuelsson.com, March 16, 2011

Stout of Ireland: Why Guinness Tastes Better on the Emerald IsleThan Anywhere Else in the World 
DailyMail UK, March 7, 2011

Does Guinness Beer Taste Better in Ireland?
ScienceDaily, March 6, 2011

Feast Your Eyes: A Day in the Life of a NASA Space Food Scientist
GOOD online magazine, March 15, 2011
The IFT-produced video, "A Day in the Life of a NASA Space Food Scientist" is featured in the food editor's column of GOOD magazine, who wrote: "It's worth a watch for the shots of astronauts chasing chocolate-covered raisins around the space shuttle alone!"

The Truth About Coconut Oil
WebMD Expert Column, March 10, 2010
Roger Clemens, DrPH, IFT President-Elect, is featured in this WebMD Expert Column on the health benefits and concerns of coconut oil.

International Innovation: Institute of Food Technologists
International Innovation, Issue 1, 2011
IFT President Robert Gravani, PhD, explains how IFT has created an energetic community of scientists who are helping shape the discourse on food science and technology in this interview published in International Innovation, a UK publication that is a resource for the scientific, technology and research communities.

April 2011

Create Your Own Product Tracing Plan in Three Steps
You still have the opportunity to learn how to create your own product tracing plan through IFT's three-part education series. Register for "Creating a Product Tracing Plan" today, so you can review the series' two on- webcasts. Then put your new knowledge to work in an in-person workshop, where you'll build your plan. (Select from workshops on June 1 in Orlando, Florida, or June 15 in New Orleans, Louisiana.)

Earn Continuing Education Credits with a Pre-Annual Meeting Short Course

Maximize the educational value you gain from the 2011 Annual Meeting & Food Expo by attending one of the Pre-Annual Meeting Short Courses. IFT is offering nine Short Courses in New Orleans, which carry a variety of continuing education credits. Participation in Short Courses may earn continuing education units for Registered Dieticians and Dietetic Technicians. These units also may be applied to certification renewal for Certified Research Chefs and Certified Culinary Scientists, and may be counted as professional development hours toward recertification for New Product Development Professionals. For more information, visit ift.org/IFT11.