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| Company type | Non-profit |
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| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Website | www |
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from more than 95 countries.[ citation needed ]
As food technology grew from the individual family farm to the factory level, including the slaughterhouse for meat and poultry processing, the cannery for canned foods, and bakeries for bread, the need to have personnel trained for the food industry did also. Literature such as Upton Sinclair's The Jungle in 1906 about slaughterhouse operations would be a factor in the establishment of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later that year. The United States Department of Agriculture was also interested in food technology, and research was already being done at agricultural colleges in the United States, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of California, Berkeley. [1] By 1935, two MIT professors, Samuel C. Prescott and Bernard E. Proctor decided that it was time to hold an international conference regarding this. [2] A detailed proposal was presented to MIT President Karl Taylor Compton in 1936 was presented with $1500 of financial aid from MIT for a meeting to be held from June 30 to July 2, 1937, with Compton asking how many people would be in attendance at this meeting. Prescott replied with "fifty or sixty people". 500 people actually attended the event. [2]
This meeting proved so successful that in early 1938 that a second conference would be held in 1939. Initially led by George J. Hucker of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (part of Cornell University) in Geneva, New York, a small group meeting was held on August 5, 1938 on forming an organization with an expanded group meeting in New York City on January 16, 1939 to further discuss this. [3] The second conference was held at MIT June 29 to July 1, 1939, with Proctor as conference chair. 600 people attended this event. At the final session, the chairman of the session Fred C. Blanck of the United States Department of Agriculture, proposed that an organization be established as the Institute of Food Technologists. This was approved unanimously. Its first officers were Prescott as President, Roy C. Newton of Swift & Company in Chicago, Illinois, as Vice President, and Hucker as Secretary-Treasurer. [3] By 1949, IFT had 3,000 members.
Regional sections were established in IFT as early as 1940 in northern California (San Francisco, Bakersfield, Sacramento). [4] The first IFT Award, the Nicholas Appert Award was established in 1942 by IFT's Chicago section with additional awards being established since then. For the first ten years, IFT officers were President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. In 1949, IFT moved into offices in Chicago and created a permanent position of Executive Secretary to run daily organizational operations. Retired U.S. Army Colonel Charles S. Lawrence was named the first Executive Secretary, a position he would hold until 1961 when he was replaced by Calvert L. Willey. During Willey's term as Executive Director (Executive Secretary 1961–1966), IFT would grow from 6,000 members in 1961 to 23,000 members in 1987. [5] Additionally, IFT Divisions were established in 1971 with the Refrigerated and Frozen Foods Division being the first. [6] The IFT Student Division was established in 1975, and was reorganized in 1984 to be the IFT Student Association with the chairperson serving as a member of the IFT Board of Directors. [7]
The governing body of IFT consists of a Board of Directors made up of the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past-President, Treasurer, Student Association President, Student Association Immediate Past-President, Student Association President-Elect, IFT Foundation Chair, and Executive Vice President, along with twelve board members. IFT also communicates with the news media, using sixty scientists to discuss the scientific perspective on food issues. [8] IFT is also active in the international level by its membership in the International Union of Food Science and Technology, headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. [9] [10] Education has always been a focus of IFT, going as far back as 1941, with the desire to have uniform education standards in food technology. [11] Education standards for undergraduate students were approved by IFT in 1966 for food science and technology. These standards were revised and updated in 1977, 1992, 2001, and 2011. Today, IFT sits on the advisory council for the International Food Protection Training Institute.
IFT largest in-person gathering is IFT's Annual Meeting & Food Expo. [12] This event, which offers more than 100 scientific and applied education sessions and an expo featuring 1,000+ exhibiting companies, regularly attracts 23,000 food professionals from more than 90 countries.
IFT offers the Certified Food Scientist (CFS) designation. The CFS is the only globally-recognized certification for food scientists, and has more than 1600 certificants in 55 countries. The CFS program is officially endorsed by the Australian Institute of Food Science Technology (AIFST) as well as the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST). Earning the CFS consists of meeting certain academic and work experience requirements and passing an exam in the following content areas:
It was designed to meet the International Standards Organization (ISO) 17024 standards for certification programs.
IFT's Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) is the global resource and authoritative voice on food traceability. Supported by its founding sponsors and guided by its advisory council, GFTC is designed to accelerate adoption and implementation of practical traceability solutions across the global food system.
The center works to deliver events, research, and support services that will help to increase understanding of food traceability across four business platforms:
All awards except the Loncin prize have this reference [13] listed below. In 2020 the awards were rebranded into one of six categories and renamed to be in honor of named individual (e.g. Lifetime Achievement Award in Honor of Nicolas Appert).
These are divisions of interest by the IFT Members [15]
These are usually cities, states, and regions. If a region is mentioned, a city in that region is mentioned which include areas surrounded by the city. [16]
The IFT Student Association (IFTSA) has 2000 members whom are also considered non-voting members of IFT. The association was established in 1975 under the name IFT Student Division, it was renamed in 1984 to its current name. The governing body consists of the Board of Directors including the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past-President, 5 Vice Presidents, 4 Members-at-large, IFT Staff Liaison, and Advisor. Student association members may attend IFT programming at a discounted rate as well as student-specific events, competitions, and awards.
The Student Association currently consists of 60 chapters at Universities across the world. [17] Universities may petition the IFT Higher Education Review Board to receive curriculum program approval as well. [18]
Between IFT's founding in 1939 and 1949, the institute had elected a secretary and treasurer that kept up with the daily operations of the institute. By 1949, the membership had reached 3,000 and it was decided to create an Executive Secretary position and establish national office in Chicago. Since then, the position's name has changed twice to its current name. There have been six Executive Vice Presidents [19] shown below:
There are six member grades within IFT: [20]
The Institute also has many publications that are both in print and online [21] that are shown below:
Both Food Technology and the Journal of Food Science can be accessed in print or online. Other publications are shown below:
In 2016 they initiated and funded the documentary Food Evolution by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development of food technology.
Samuel Cate Prescott was an American food scientist and microbiologist who was involved in the development of food safety, food science, public health, and industrial microbiology.
Phi Tau Sigma (ΦΤΣ) is an international honor society for food science and technology. It was founded in 1953 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Charles S. Lawrence was a United States Army colonel who would survive the Bataan Death March to later become the first Executive Vice President of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).
The William Underwood Company, founded in 1822, was an American food company best known for its flagship product Underwood Deviled Ham, a canned meat spread. The company had a key role in time-temperature research done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1895 to 1896, which led to the development of food science and food technology as a profession.
William Lyman Underwood was an American photographer who was also involved in the research of time-temperature canning research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1895 to 1896.
Samuel Abraham Goldblith was an American food scientist. While involved in World War II, he studied malnutrition, and later was involved in food research important for space exploration.
Bernard E. Proctor was an American food scientist who was involved in early research on food irradiation.
George J. Hucker was an American microbiologist who was involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists and was involved in dairy microbiology.
Fred C. Blanck was an American food scientist who was involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) which was involved in the publishing of food and nutrition articles and books.
Roy C. Newton was an American food scientist who was involved in research and development of antioxidants in food and meat products during the 20th century. He also was a founding member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in 1939.
Charles J. Bates was an American food scientist who was involved in the development of baking formulas for angel food and devil's food cake, then later developed high fructose corn syrup sweetener for Coca-Cola. Away from his research, Bates was also involved with the Boy Scouts of America in Indiana, earning numerous awards.
Maynard Alexander Joslyn was a Russian Empire-born, American food scientist who involved in the rebirth of the American wine industry in California following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Joslyn was also involved in the development of analytical chemistry as it applied to food, leading to the advancement of food chemistry as a scientific discipline.
Food Technology is a monthly food science and technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago, Illinois. The magazine addresses current issues related to food science and technology, including research, education, food engineering, food packaging, nutraceuticals, laboratory issues, and other items related to IFT. The magazine is free to IFT members as part of their annual dues.
George F. Stewart was an American food scientist who was involved in processing, preservation, chemistry, and microbiology of poultry and egg-based food products. He also became the first president of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) after it was formed at the 1970 conference in Washington, D.C., from the International Congress of Food Science and Technology.
Fred Wilbur Tanner (1888–1957) was an American food scientist and microbiologist who involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the creation of the scientific journal Food Research.
The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Incorporated (AIFST) is a national, not-for-profit industry body representing individuals from all sectors of the food science and technology industry.
John Joseph Powers was an American food scientist who was involved in the creation of the Food Science Department at University of Georgia in Athens, GA. He also served as President of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in 1986-87 and was Editor of the Journal of Food Science and "Journal of Food Quality.
The Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) is an independent qualifying body for food professionals based in the UK that is concerned with all aspects of food science and technology.
Vishweshwaraiah Prakash is an Indian structural biologist, food technologist and a former director-general designate of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He is a former director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore and was involved with the International Union of Food Science and Technology as the chairman of its International Academy during 2008-10. He received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology category in 1996. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004,
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