NewslineInternational Union of Food Science and Technology Newsletter

IUFoST

Subscriptions for Librariesand Institutions are US$ 95per year. Published threetimes per year. Submitarticles for consideration to:Judith S. MeechNewsline Editor522 Maple AvenueOakville, Ontario, CanadaL6J 2J4Fax +1 905 815 1574e-mail: iufost@inforamp.net

PresidentProf. Dr. Ing. W.E.L. SpiessGermany

Secretary-General/TreasurerJudith S. Meech522 Maple AvenueOakville, OntarioCanada L6J 2J4Tel +1 905 815 1926Fax +1 905 815 1574e-mail: iufost@inforamp.net

President-electAlan MortimerAustralia

Past PresidentProf. P.A. BiacsHungary

Scientific Council ChairDr. D.R. LinebackUSA

Governing CouncilProf. G. Campbell-PlattUK.

Prof. F.E. EscherSwitzerland

Prof. T-W KwonKorea

Dr. F. LajoloBrazil

Dr. K. MårtenssonSweden

Ing. E. MendezMexico

Prof. Dr. F.G. WinarnoIndonesia

Reproduction of materialin Newsline is invited,with acknowledgementto IUFoST, all enquiriesto the Secretary-General.

Home Page:http://www.inforamp.net/~iufost

JUNE 2000Number 46ISSN 0159-4419

IUFoST has moved in a new direction,

since its General Assembly in Sydney

last October, from an organisation

whose main focus was on its world

congresses to a global service provider. An Action Plan was developed from

the new strategic plan, specifically based on directives from IUFoST members

regarding their interests and needs.

In this Action Plan, six Service Delivery Centres (SDCs) were defined:

• Continuing Professional Development, Conferences, Workshops, etc

• Information Services, Journals, Technical

publications, internet services

• Advice and Expert Opinion

• Food Science and Technology Development

New technologies application, regulatory

technical standards, scientific needs

• Development of Professionalism

International standards on professional

skills, strategy development

• Marketing and Support services

The tasks that have been allocated to the individual SDCs cover the whole

spectrum of problems that the profession faces in a world where globalisation

is not only a most quoted term but also a fact. Important activities of the SDCs

will be centred around education, setting standards in the international scene,

making degrees comparable and providing support to countries with less

developed educational infrastructure. They also will be centred on strategy

development, discussing where priorities in R & D have to be set, needs for

developing new technologies, improving the functionality of natural produces

to integrate new measures of process control into food production, to improve

distribution systems. In addition, and with high priority, the SDCs have to

provide and help to develop strategies of how a food professional in the first,

second and third world receives the information which she or he needs to move

in a professional environment. The latter problem is of special interest at this

time as IUFoST is joining hands with IFT to publish an electronic magazine in

the internet.

EDITORIAL:PROFESSOR W.E.L. SPIESSIUFoST PRESIDENTA GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

2 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

The establishment of the SDCs has however not only

provided IUFoST with the instrument to serve its clientele

that are organised within IUFoST’s Adhering Bodies, the

SDCs are also a platform for a broader involvement of

those interested in serving their friends and colleagues in

the profession. The SDCs allow individual involvement in

an internationally active group outside the national con-

fines of ABs and presents certainly a large potential for

new and valuable contacts in the profession.

Considered from the viewpoint of IUFoST’s manage-

ment, the involvement of a large group of volunteers in the

activities of the SDCs is of vital importance. If we are not

in a position to attract highly qualified colleagues to serve

the world’s Food Science and Technology community

through IUFoST, we certainly will fail in our mission.

The tool to make this all happen and workable in a

virtual office place is the internet. The internet together

with telephone communication and faxes allows IUFoST

– like many other organisations – to be available 24 hours

a day. The e-mail note from Melbourne to Karlsruhe or

Oakville does not need much more time than a walk from

office to office in an actual office environment. Those

virtual elements are the foundation stones with which

IUFoST’s newly defined mission can be accomplished.

Still needed is the input by volunteers. There are no

borders that prohibit involvement, and the challenge is

put forward to the international community - the virtual

doors are all open for those interested in becoming an

active partner in IUFoST’s new mission. ❏

IUFoST, the Aus-

tralian food indus-

try and its

professional and

academic connections have suffered the loss of a major

supporting figure in Emeritus Professor Ron Edwards,

who died on 8 April 2000.

From humble beginnings as a laboratory assistant in

the CSIRO Division of Food Preservation and Transport,

as it then was in 1946, Ron climbed the professional ladder

with outstanding success to become the Foundation Pro-

fessor of Food Technology at the University of New South

Wales, presenting the first university course in food tech-

nology in Australia.

Ron’s first professional qualification was Associate of

Sydney Technical College, earned by the arduous regime

of part time study four nights per week for six years. After

brief experience in the food industry Ron joined Dr F H

Reuter as a Lecturer in the Department of Food Technol-

ogy at the University of New South Wales. Graduation as

BSc (Hons I) in Food Technology in 1956 was followed by

the award of PhD from UNSW in 1963 and post doctoral

research at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst,

USA in 1964.

After the retirement of Dr Reuter in 1970, Ron became

Head of the Department of Food Technology, in 1975

Foundation Professor, and from 1976–1989 Head of the

Schools of Food Technology, Food Science and Technol-

ogy, Biological Technologies and Applied Bioscience.

Under his leadership, enrolments in the School increased

continuously, especially of post graduate students.

As Regional Consultant on Food Sciences to the Aus-

tralian Universities International Development Program,

Ron was intimately concerned with aid programs, which

involved training large numbers of stu-

dents from developing countries and

setting up courses and research projects

in those countries. Ron retired in 1990

as Head of the Department of Food

Science and Technology with the sta-

tus Emeritus Professor. During his aca-

demic career, Ron published more than

100 peer-reviewed scientific publica-

tions with his academic colleagues.

The invaluable contribution that Ron Edwards made

to food science and technology education in Australia and

ASEAN countries is matched by his highly significant role

in the area of food legislation. In 1961 he took on the

position of Technical Secretary of the Food Technology

Association of New South Wales and became a member of

the CAFTA Technical Standing Committee. He attended

the first meeting of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius

Commission as technical adviser to the Australian delega-

tion.

In 1974 Ron was appointed to the committee which

became the NH&MRC Australian Food Standards Com-

mittee and for 11 years (1976-87) was chairman of this

committee. During the same period (1980-88) he was also

a member of the NSW Pure Foods Advisory Committee. In

both these areas his wise counsel and wide experience

contributed greatly to sound decisions.

Ron was a Fellow of AIFST, a member of the inaugural

Council from 1967, President 1977-79, and received the

AIFST Award of Merit in 1979. He was also a Fellow of the

A TRIBUTEEMERITUS PROFESSORRON EDWARDS,1927 – 2000

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 3

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engi-

neering and an Honorary Fellow of the Singapore Institute

of Food Science and Technology.

For 20 years (1966-1985) Ron was Associate Editor of

Food Technology in Australia, and then chairman of the

Editorial Board of Food Australia from 1988. He also served

on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Science of Food

and Agriculture (UK). He was a member of the Board of

Trustees and elected President of the Australian Branch of

the International Life Sciences Institute when it was formed

in 1983.

In 1991 AIFST Council appointed Ron as Australian

delegate to the General Assembly of the International

Union of Food Science & Technology. He became a mem-

ber of the IUFoST Executive Committee and in 1995 was

elected a Vice President of the Union. He made significant

contributions to IUFoST including leadership of the Post

Harvest Working Group and commitment to and promo-

tion of IUFoST activities worldwide. It was a matter of

deep regret to his IUFoST colleagues that ill-health pre-

vented his participation in the 10th World Congress of

Food Science and Technology in 1999, when he had worked

actively to secure this event for his home city.

To Ron’s wife Jule, whom he met when both worked

for CSIRO at Homebush, and his sons Chris, David and

Brian and their families, all members of the International

Union of Food Science and Technology and the Australian

Institute extend profound sympathy in their bereave-

ment. ❏

by J. F. Kefford, former Secretary-General, IUFoST

When the Associa-

tion for Better

Land Husbandry

was started

around 1993, the organization was looking at improving

the livelihoods of small-scale farmers through affordable

and sustainable on farm-practices. At first, the NGO at-

tempted to form a regional network of interested profes-

sionals who would create strategies and lobby governments

to take sustainable agriculture more seriously. This strat-

egy needed to be adjusted to fit certain realities. Experi-

ence taught ABLH that it had to be more hands on,

focussed and it needed to concentrate on a smaller geo-

graphical area.

The organic matter management network was the

first serious move to become a focussed community-

based operation. Its first station was in Kakamega, target-

ing western Kenya and, in Kerugoya targeting the mid-

lands. It then had three core areas, First, and especially in

Western Kenya, it promoted home gardens to add nutri-

tional value to the mainly starch family food. Primarily

this involved training in conservation farming methods. It

introduced double digging, composting and whole range

of conservation gardening techniques. Second, it zeroed-

in on main field crops, the intention being to earn farmers

some income. In this regard, soya and sunflower were and

still are the key crops. Third, beekeeping became a flag-

ship programme. In the Western region of Kenya,

Kakamega forest provided adequate foliage for the bees

and a sustainable method of utilizing the forest while

making subsistence farmers some money on the side.

By 1994, ABLH had decided that the direction to go

was to become an NGO but to essentially look into long-

term application of market led solutions. Our experience

quickly showed that the conservation methods of farming

were showing great benefits. Nutrition levels were up

and, in many cases, there was even surplus for sale. A

ground-breaking report, Goodbye to Hunger by Dr. Patrick

Hamilton formerly of Aberdeen University clearly dem-

onstrated that conservation farming was the way to go for

many poor, rural households in Kenya. ABLH interven-

tion now had to focus on what to do with the surplus

yields. The answer was clear: farmers must reap economic

benefits from practicing conservation farming. In a world

where aid money is still used as traditional charity, pov-

erty relief through business was a hard concept to sell.

However, through the courageous support of the

British Government, the Ford Foundation and the

Rockefeller foundation, ABLH was able to start exploring

the marketing angle for small-scale farmers of fresh pro-

duce and some main field crops. A system had to be put in

place that made sure the farmer is in control of the process.

The key points were:

Work with farmer self-help groups practicing conser-

vation farming in professionally run business units.

All products to be farmed in accordance with conser-

vation farming practices and certified as Conservation Su-

preme or Organic foods. An independent certification scheme

be put in place.

• to set up food processing units that would handle

self-help groups’ products and add value through

processing.

• to distribute and market these products, first

nationally, then in Europe.

CONSERVATION FARMINGAND BUSINESS IN KENYACHARLES JOWIKENYA CORRESPONDENT

4 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

Farmers Own is the culmination of these points. It will

bring the farmer groups to the forefront in the business of

food processing, distributing and marketing. Successful

self help groups will buy equity in the company and

eventually, it will be a truly Farmers Own operation.

Farmers Own is the climax of ABLH’s vision of a market-

led approach to poverty alleviation. ❏

One set of impor-

tant tools for dis-

semination of new

scientific knowl-

edge among industrial specialists is technical literature

and technically oriented journals. For small countries like

the Czech Republic, publishing technical literature in their

own language is an expensive business. We have to con-

sider who might be interested in buying this literature and

if the purchaser can afford the cost. Industrial companies

and their technical staff can afford expensive literature

and journals. However, the overall demand is not high

and the price of such literature exceeds the price of a

similar edition published outside this country, particu-

larly in English.

Food specialists in industry, research and education

in the Czech Republic have access to the latest professional

literature, more so than before the political changes in

1989. Greater interest in English language literature is

displayed because of increasing knowledge of this lan-

guage and more frequent professional contacts of our

specialists with colleagues in other countries. One prob-

lem closely linked with professional literature is the need

to ensure the availability of scientific and technical books

for all university students. Authors of these books must

bear in mind that their books must serve two purposes, to

be cheaper and, as far as possible, also useful for other

professionals. To publish such literature, the authors must

find sufficient finances to cover all expenditures. Main

sources are contributions from industrial companies as

gifts to existing foundations. Universities and indepen-

dent faculties support only textbook publishing, which

are printed in smaller numbers.

Food industry in the Czech industry still has a large

number of small and medium sized enterprises whose

interests can be best coped with in periodicals Among the

required information are recommendations and experi-

ences of those SMEs that successfully passed restructur-

ing programs, information from international exhibitions,

about new techniques, HACCP and food safety, organised

courses and training, about scientific achievements, book

reviews etc. This new and topical information is trans-

ferred quickly via technical and technological journals

published in Czech language.

Czech periodicals in food technology and nutrition

traditionally have a good reputation and long tradition.

Some of them have been in print since the last century. The

whole spectrum of the food industry in Czech republic is

covered by these periodicals and their content is mostly

oriented to individual food industrial branches. As an

example, a list of these periodicals is compiled here with

English translation of their titles: Papers from Sugar Indus-

try and Beet Growing, Fermentation Industry, Nutrition and

Food, Meat, Dairy Papers, Baker and Confectioner, Miller´s

Newspapers, Czech Confectioner, Brewing Recent Events and

News, Czech and Slovak Gastroenterology, Papers of Celiacs,

Food Recent Events and News (this journal contains informa-

tion from all branches of food industry, nutrition and

legislation, economics in separate series), Food Conferences

and Expositions, Butcher´s News and some other journals

where more information is given from agricultural point

of view.

Czech food science has its own scientific journal Czech

Journal of Food Sciences (since 1998 called Food Sciences).

This journal was established as a quarterly periodical in

1983. It is the only one scientific journal publishing origi-

nal scientific works, short communications and review

papers from the field of food science. Annually an average

of 40 pagers is published, mostly from food chemistry and

analysis, food microbiology, biochemistry and food pro-

cessing. Only a small number of papers are devoted to

economics of food industry and food machinery. In 1992

this journal was expanded to a bi-monthly periodical. The

journal’s financing is mainly supported by the Ministry of

Agriculture of the Czech Republic and partly also by the

Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology of the Insti-

tute of Chemical Technology Prague and the Food Re-

search Institute Prague.

Originally, all papers were published in Czech and

Slovak languages with English summaries. Since 1990,

scientific works written in English began to be published.

The number of these papers is increasing and on average

accounts for more than 50 % of accepted papers. In order

to be more suitable for foreign readers all English written

papers are joined always into complete numbers.

Food Sciences is published by the Institute of Agricul-

NEWS FROMCZECH REPUBLICMOJMIR RYCHTERACORRESPONDENT

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 5

tural and Food Information (IAFI). Editorial board Chair-

man is Professor Jan Velisek, present Dean of the Faculty

of Food and Biochemical Technology and Head of the

Department of Food Chemistry and Analysis. The Editor-

in-Chief is Dr. M.Braunova (IAFI). The editorial board has

20 members, 12 from Czech Republic, 3 from Slovakia and

one member is from Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hun-

gary and Austria. Abstracts from the journal are compiled

in Agrindes of AGRIS/FAO database, Food Science and

Technology Abstracts, Dairy Science Abstracts, Chemical

Abstracts, PASCAL (INIST), TOXILINE PLUS and Czech

Agricultural Bibliography. This information is available

at the website address: http//www.uzpi.cz. Members of

the Czech Journal of Food Sciences editorial board invite

all food specialists as authors, contributors and subscrib-

ers.

For further information on this subject please contact

Mojmir Rychtera, Professor of biotechnology. Depart-

ment of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering,

Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, Institute of

Chemical Technology Prague, Technicka 5, CZ- 166 28

Prague 6, Czech Republic, Phone: +4202 311 1509, Fax:

+4202 2435 5051, e-mail: Mojmir.Rychtera@vscht.cz, home

pages of ICTP: http//www.vscht.cz. ❏

The International

Conference on Ori-

ent Foods, spon-

sored by Chinese Institute of Food Science & Technology

(CIFST) and the International Union of Food Science and

Technology (IUFoST), convened in Beijing, China, from

October 11-14,1999. More than 800 participants were

present at the Conference, at which almost 200 were from

overseas.

Professor Owen Fennema, Chairman of the IUFoST

Scientific Activities Committee, jointly presided with CIFST

at the opening ceremony and summit forum. The Confer-

ence received more than 400 papers, of which 280 papers

were compiled into the Book of Abstracts distributed

during the Conference. There were technical sessions on

the following subjects:

1. Oriental dietary culture, 2. Oriental dietary nutri-

tion, 3. Sources of oriental foods, 4. Development of le-

gume foods, 5. Development of non-alcoholic beverages,

6. Development of alcoholic beverages, 7. Development of

nutraceuticals, 8. Development of seasonings, 9.

Industrialisation of traditional Oriental foods, 10. Appli-

cation of emerging technology in the industrialisation of

traditional foods, 11. Food safety, 12. Marketing and dis-

tribution of Oriental foods.

In addition, round-table conferences were held for

some of the comprehensive subjects and during the Con-

ference, some special resources and quality Oriental food

were displayed.

This Conference was an exchange and blend of the

oriental dietary culture and the western dietary culture.

From the records of diet in the Chinese civilisation history

of 5000 years, people explored the fine traditions of orien-

tal foods, giving them theoretical explanation, and went

deep into the explorations of the principles and their

applied practice.

The papers in the technical sessions of ‘Oriental di-

etary culture and Oriental dietary nutrition’ aroused the

general attention of the participants. Western dietary cul-

ture has made increasing contributions to the

industrialisation of the traditional Oriental foods and the

papers in the technical sessions ‘Industrialisation of tradi-

tional Orient foods’, and ‘Application of emerging tech-

nology in the industrialisation of traditional foods’ also

aroused general attention.

The benefit brought to mankind through the exchange

and blending of the two kinds of dietary cultures are

reflected in the development of various foods. Among the

related technical sessions, especially in the sessions of

‘Development of legume foods’, and ‘Development of

nutraceuticals’, people took the floor one after another.

The papers on the legume foods show that people are re-

evaluating the edible value of soybean.

Some papers point out the quality of soybean protein

is not inferior to animal protein; some other papers point

out that some trace components, which were regarded as

anti-nutritional factors in the past, might be rationally

used as the physiologically active substances with

nutraceutials properties. In recent years the consumption

of soybean foods in the western countries is increasing. As

the original country of soybean and the birthplace of

soybean foods, China is carrying out soybean Action

Project to promote soybean industry.

Japanese participants paid special attention to the

papers read out in the technical session of Oriental foods.

They have wide interest in the special cereal crops and the

Chinese medicinal herbs. The technical sessions of mar-

keting and distribution of Oriental foods had fewer pa-

pers, but it was a topical subject for entrepreneurs. Some

NEWS FROM CHINAPROFESSOR YIN ZONGLUNCORRESPONDENT

6 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

correspondents organised an interview to solicit opinions

from the representative scholars after the conference.

There were also fewer papers in the technical session

on Food safety. However, the participants were so many

that the original meeting place could not hold them all and

the session had to move into a bigger hall, where an

animated discussion ensued.

Although each country has different conditions, food

safety has indeed become a worldwide topic of general

interest, because of increasing globalisation of food mar-

kets. Even the economically developed countries are faced

with the issue of how to guarantee food safety.

Round-table conference: At the round-table confer-

ence organised by the Youth Committee of CIFST in the

name of Youth Forums, gene-modified food (GMF) was a

subject of great topical interest. GMF safety and different

views on its advantages and disadvantages aroused an

animated discussion. The common understanding reached

was that GMFs should have appropriate regulations for

their management. Some workers of food industries sug-

gested that GMF should be labelled, so that the consumers

have the right to choose. The Chinese departments con-

cerned are discussing this issue.

At another round-table conference the intentions of

mutual exchange and future co-operation were discussed.

In fact, some organisations of food science and technology

have already had some contact and exchanges. However,

they felt these kinds of contact and exchanges need to be

strengthened.

Prof. Cherl-Ho Lee, Secretary-General of the Korean

Society of Food Science and Technology, mentioned that

the 11th world Conference of Food Science and Technol-

ogy would be held in Seoul in the year of 2001, in which

Oriental food would be an important component. The

representatives of Korean Society of Food Science and

Technology and CIFST discussed concrete items of pos-

sible co-operation for the 11th world conference. The

conference provided the opportunity for this exchange

and co-operative efforts.

Other activities: ICOF’99 opening ceremony and Night

of Yanjing reception were held at the Great Hall of the

People. After the reception banquet, the participants

mounted Tiananmen Rostrum and enjoyed the splendid

night view of Tiananmen Square from the reviewing

stand. CIFST and Beijing Food Office also hosted dinners

for the participants at Jinghua Restaurant; which is fa-

mous for its traditional dishes. The participants had a

chance to enjoy the dishes and snacks prepared by our

state-level, famous chefs. The closing banquet was held at

Ju Ying Hall in the Friendship Hotel on the evening of

October 14.

These activities not only left an unforgettable impres-

sion on the Chinese and foreign participants who paid

their first visit to Beijing, but also represented a memo-

rable experience for the Chinese and foreign participants

who had visited Beijing before. ❏

Functional Foods,

or FF, may be de-

fined as food prod-

ucts with scientifically proven and documented benefits

to health and well being. The concept was created in Japan

a decade ago, and the interest in FF has since spread

globally. In Sweden and Finland interest has grown par-

ticularly strong, and a number of functional foods have

appeared on the consumer market, some of which have

already spread internationally, such as Finnish Benecol

margarine and Swedish ProViva oat drinks. Common

guidelines were developed by the Swedish food industry

for the use of product specific claims in the labelling of

functional foods, in anticipation of legislation, which

should be realised during the year.

Sweden is well advanced in research disciplines of

importance to FF development: medicine-nutrition, food

science, biotechnology, microbiology and process tech-

nology. However, there has been an apparent need for

some co-ordinating body to promote joint research and

research programmes, to collect and make available infor-

mation and competence and to create links between in-

dustry and research organisations. In December 1998 a

Swedish Centre of Excellence and Innovation in Func-

tional Food was inaugurated to meet this need, with

economical support from the Technical Link Foundation,

Göteborg.

The initiative originated from ideas developed by

professor Ann-Sofie Sandberg, head of the Department of

Food Science of the Chalmers University of Technology,

which department is located at SIK and between which

two bodies close co-operation has long been established.

The main objectives of the Centre are to act, strategi-

cally and nationally, to:

• help promote knowledge about how to influence

public health in a positive direction

• suggest how to create links between market and

NEWS FROM SWEDENPROFESSOR NILS BENGTSSONCORRESPONDENT

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 7

Academia, thus enabling the development of inno-

vative, high-tech food products.

• strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish food

industry.

An important immediate task is to work for the estab-

lishment of a National Strategic R&D Programme for

Functional Foods.

While the national perspective is thus a prime objec-

tive of the centre, international contacts and co-operation

for the exchange of information and ideas will likewise be

important tasks.

For national and international information and

contacts, a home page has been created,

www.functionalfoods.nu, which all interested parties are

welcome to visit. ❏

The Fourth Inter-

national Confer-

ence on Agro and

Food Physics (ISFP’2000) was held from May 16-20, 2000

in Istanbul, Turkey, jointly organised by International

Society of Food Physicists (ISFP) and three Turkish Food

Engineering Universities (Ege, Hacettepe, ITU). Nineteen

corporations, together with the Turkish Scientific and

Technological Research Institution (TUBITAK) and Min-

istry of Culture sponsored this conference.

The program consisted of six plenary invited lectures,

30 oral presentations and 65 poster presentations. In the

opening ceremony, the Keynote Speakers were I. Saldamli,

Chairperson of the Organising Committee; A. S. Szabo,

President of ISFP; E. Ekinci, Dean of Faculty. Plenary

Invited Lectures were: ‘Molecular mobility and food sta-

bility (glass state technology)’ (Owen Fennema, USA); ‘A

pH-sensitive and biodegradable smart hydrogel’ (S.

Gunasekaram, USA); ‘New developments in the measure-

ment of carotenoids in foods and biological matrices’ (S.

Schwartz, USA); ‘Food physics as a new interdisciplinary

subscience, bridge between food science and applied phys-

ics’ (A. S. Szabo, Hungary); ‘Process modelling limitations

imposed by physical property data of foods’ (B. M.

McKenna, Ireland).

The speakers in oral presentations gave a good over-

view on several key areas of agro and food physics. Some

of the interesting oral presentations were: ‘Temperature

modelling in fish transportation using the MAILPROF

computer program’ (C. Alasalvar, UK); ‘The effect of high

hydrostatic pressure on different strains of S. aureus and

E. coli’ (F. Bozoglu, Turkey); ‘Dose rate effect of gamma

irradiation on phenolic compounds, PPO and browning of

mushrooms’ (M. Lacroix, Canada); ‘Radiation induced

physical and kinetical modification of dehydrated en-

zymes’ (O. S. Ferdes, Romania); ‘Analysis of PUFA (Poly

Unsaturated Fatty Acids) compositions of some Chlorella

and Spirulina species by CC-GC’ (S. Otles, Turkey); ‘In-

dentation testing of composite foods’ (M. G. Scanlon,

Canada); ‘Quality studies of agricultural material’ (A.

Stepniewski, Poland); ‘The production of whey based raw

materials obtained by using of ultrafiltration and dem-

ineralization systems’ (A. Uysal/B. Cengiz, Turkey).

‘Thermoluminescence, photostimulated luminescence

and ESR analysis of electron-beam irradiated spices’ pre-

sented by O. Ferdes and his team (Romania) was selected

by the Poster Award Committee as the Winner of Best

Poster Award.

During the social events and cocktails the participants

of ISFP’2000 Conference were shown the Turkish culture,

wonderful historical places and enjoyed exotic and deli-

cious Turkish meals.

For further information please contact, Assoc. Prof. S.

Otles, tel: +90 2323884000, fax: +90 2323741401, e-mail:

otles@bornova.ege.edu.tr

The Third International Conference of Nutrition and

Dietetics was held on April 12-15, 2000 in Ankara, Turkey,

and organised by Nutrition and Dietetic Department of

HU. Some of the conference and obesity symposium speak-

ers L. Bailey, USA ‘New dietary reference intakes’; P.

Furst, Germany ‘New strategies in clinical nutrition’; A.

Robertson, WHO ‘First food and nutrition action plan for

Europe 2000’; K. Travers, Canada ‘Nutrition education for

social change’; J. Blundell, UK ‘Functional foods for appe-

tite control’; E. Jequier, Switzerland ‘Carbohydrate/fat

ratio on body weight regulation in humans’; D. McCarthy,

UK ‘Childhood obesity’.

The congress consisted of five panels, one workshop

“Developments in Institutional Food Services in the

(cont’d page 11)

NEWS FROM TURKEYASSOC.PROF. SEMIH OTLESCORRESPONDENT

SAAFoST 40TH ANNIVERSARY:The South African Association of Food Science and Technology, is celebrat-

ing its 40th Anniversary with a three-day Conference and a Food Ingredients

Exhibition from 1- 3 August in Johannesburg. The theme of the Conference

is ‘The Food Industry and Consumer Health’. For more information contact

Aubrey Parsons, SAAFoST, Auckland Park, 2006, Johannesburg, South

Africa, Tel: + 27 11 963 1192, Fax: + 27 11 921 5453, e-mail:

alljoy@iafrica.com.

8 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

INTERNATIONAL EV

EVENTS IN RED ARE SPONSORED BY IUFoST.

2000MAY 6 -OCTOBER 1 Pre-Congress Internet Conference. In

preparation for 11th World Congress of Food Science and Tech-

nology, organised by the Korean Society of Food Science and

Technology (KoSFoST). Contact: www.foodcy.2001.or.kr, ab-

stracts: abstract@foodcy2001.or.kr

JULY 6-14 20th Anniversary Gala Workshop on Rapid

Methods & Automation in Microbiology, Kansas State Univ.

Contact: Daniel Y.C. Fung, Director, Dept. of Animal Sci. &

Industry, 139 Call Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-1600, USA. Tel:

+1 785 532 5654, Fax: +1 785 532 5681, e-mail:

dfung@oz.oznet.ksu.edu, Web: www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/conf/

microbiology

JULY 10-12 2nd International Symposium on Sequenc-

ing Batch Reactor Technology,Narbonne, France. Contact: INRA-

LBE, attn. Drs. JP Delgenès & M. Torrijos, Avenue des Etangs

11100 Narbonne, France. Fax: +33 468 42 51 60, e-

mail:sbr2000@ensam.inra.fr

JULY10-13 Symposium on the Bacterial Genera

Campylobacter, Arcobacter, and Helicobacter. Univ. of Strathclyde,

Scotland. Contact: Society for Applied Microbiology. Tel: +44-

1234-326661, Fax +44-1234-326678, e-mail: info@sfam.org.uk, Web:

www.sfam.org.uk

JULY 15-19 Agri-Food 2000: Foods for the New

Millenium; A joint conference of Agricultural Institute of Canada,

Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Canadian

Society of Agricultural Engineering and Flax Council of Canada,

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Contact: Agri-Food 2000, Box 41084,

RPO Markham, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Tel: + 1 204 261

6139, Fax: + 1 204 474 7521, Web: www.agrifood2000.mb.ca

JULY 28-31 9th Food Choice Conference, Trinity Col-

lege, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Contact: e-mail:

D.Trinder@Bham.ac.uk

AUGUST 2-4 FI South America, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Inter-

national Food Ingredients Exhibition. Contact: Ivonne Twigt,

Miller Freeman B.V., Industrieweg 54, 3606 AS Maarssen, The

Netherlands. Tel: +31 346 559444, Fax: + 31 346 573811, e-mail:

Fisa@mfbr.com, Web:www.mfbr.com

AUGUST 8-10 17th Brazilian Congress on Food Science

and Technology (XVII CBTA). Fortaleza, Brazil. Contact:

Frederico Jose Beserra, President XVII CBTA, Rua Marinha

Holanda, 229,Fortaleza-Ceara, Brazil Tel: + 85 241-3541, e-mail:

cbcta@cnpat.embrapa.br

SEPTEMBER 4-8 Physical & Chemical Changes in Stored

Foods. University of Nottingham, England. Contact: Deborah

Kendale, Tel: +44-121-414 4291, Fax: +44-121-414-3626, e-mail:

food-igds@bham.ac.uk, Web: www.food.igds.bham.ac.uk

SEPTEMBER 10-14 114th AOAC Int’l Annual Mtg. and Expo-

sition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Contact: Carolyn Dell,

AOAC Int’l, 481 North Frederick Ave. Suite 500, Gaithersburg,

MD 20877, USA. Tel: +1 301 9247077, e-mail: meetings@aoac.org

SEPTEMBER 14-17 International Conference and Exhibition

on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Houston, Texas, USA.

Contact: Prof. Fereidoon Shahidi, Memorial University of

Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, A1B 3X9.

Tel: + 1 709 737 8552, Fax: + 1 709 737 4000,

e-mail:fshahidi@morgan.ucs.mun.ca, Web:www.worldnutra.com

SEPTEMBER 16-21 ISOPOW 2000: Water Science for Food,

Health, Agriculture and Environment, Israel. Contact: H.

Shklarsky, Tel: +972 4 8294464, Fax: +972 4 8236022, e-mail:

isopow@tx.technion.ac.il

SEPTEMBER 20-22 Health Ingredients Japan. International ex-

hibition and conference for ingredients for health, functional and

organic foods. Contact: Ivonne Twigt, Miller Freeman B.V.,

Industrieweg 54, 3606 AS Maarssen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31

346 559444, Fax: + 31 346 573811, e-mail: mfj@ma.kcom.ne.jp

OCTOBER 3-6 ILSI’s 3rd Asian Conference on Food Safety

and Nutrition: Improving Nutrition and Food Safety for the New

Millennium, Beijing, China. Contact: Ms. Yin Wen Yuan, ILSI

Focal Point in China, Room 4-19, 27 Nan Wei Road, Xuan Wu

District, Beijing 100050, China. Tel: + 86 10 6317 0892, Fax: + 86 10

6317 0892, e-mail:chencm@public.bta.net.cn, Web: www.ilsi.org/

foodsafe.pdf

OCTOBER 9-11 1st Joint FSA-UNB and NIFST Interna-

tional Conference on Food Technology, Cotonou 2000. Cotonou,

Benin Republic. Contact: Chima C. Igwe, Nigerian Institute of

Food Science and Technology (NFIST). P.M.B. 21023, Ikeja,

Lagos, Nigeria. e-mail: fiiro@rcl.nig.com, or Dr. M. Egounlety

Faculte des Sciences Agronomiiques, Universite Nationale du

Benin (FSA-UNB), 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Benin Republic

OCTOBER 18-20 20th University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Symposium: Current Concepts in Foodborne Pathogens and Rapid

and Automated Methods in Food Microbiology, River Falls, Wis-

consin, USA. Contact: Dr. Purnendu C. Vasavada, Animal and

Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin-River Falls,

410 S 3rd Street, River Falls, Wisconsin 54022. Tel: + 1 715 425 3150,

Fax: + 1 715 425 3372, e-mail: Purnendu. C.Vasavada@uwrf.edu,

Web: www.uwrf.edu/food-science/foodmicr.htm

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 9

OCTOBER 19-21 Postharvest Treatment of Fruit and Veg-

etables, Murcia, Spain. Contact: Dr. Francisco Artes-Calero,

CEBAS-CSIC, Avenida de la Fama 1, Apartado 4195, 30080 Murcia,

Spain. Tel: +34 968 21 57 17, Fax: +34 968 26 66 13

NOVEMBER 8-10 2nd Int’l. Symposium on Food Packaging,

Vienna, Austria. Contact: ILSI-Europe, Avenue E Mounier, 83-

Box 6, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 771 0014, Fax: +32 2 762

0044, e-mail: Anh@ilsieurope.be

NOVEMBER 19-22 7th ASEAN Food Conference 2000, Metro

Manila, Philippines. Contact: Food Processing Division, Indus-

trial Technology Development Institute, DOST Compound Gen

Santos Avenue, Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines,

e-mail: jgbautista@pacific.net.ph, Web: www.home.pacific.net.ph

NOVEMBER 20-22 Health Ingredients Europe, Frankfurt,

Germany. International exhibition and conference for ingredients

for health, functional and organic foods. Contact: Ivonne Twigt,

Miller Freeman BV, Tel: +31 346 559444, Fax: +31 346 573811, e-

mail: mbos@unmf.com, Web: www.fi-events.com/hi

NOVEMBER 20-24 6th Latinoamerican Meeting of Food Mi-

crobiology and 2nd Argentinian Symposium of Food Preservation,

Buenos Aires, Argentina. Contact: Congress Secretariat, Santiago

del Estero 1154, 1075 Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fax: + 54 11 4306

3663, e-mail: 5061@foodcontrol.com

2001FEBRUARY 2-4 1st World Congress on Fetal Origins of

Adult Disease. The Oberoi Towers, Mumbai, India. Contact: Alifiya

S. Motiwala, SNEHA/MRC Secretariat, c/o Centre for the Study

of Social Change, MN Roy Human Development Campus, Plot 6,

Block F, Opp. Gov’t. Colony, Bldg. 326, Bandra (East), Mumbai

400 051, India. Tel: +91-22-6516439, Fax +91-22-6516438, e-mail:

mcsc@vsnl.com

MARCH 28-30 Int’l. Institute of Refrigeration, Rapid Cool-

ing of Food. University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Contact

Conference Organiser, FRPERC, Univ. of Bristol, Churchill Bldg.,

Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, United Kingdom Tel: +44-117-928-

9239, Fax +44-117-928-9314, e-mail: frperc-conf@bristol.ac.uk

APRIL 3–5 FI Asia –China. International exhibition

and conference on food ingredients, semi-finished products, prod-

uct development and quality control, Shanghai, China. Contact:

Ivonne Twigt, Miller Freeman BV, Tel: +31 346 559444, Fax: +31

346 573811, e-mail: Roudejans@unmf.com, Web: www.fi-

events.com/asia

APRIL 22-27 11th World Congress of Food Science and

Technology, Seoul, Korea, organised by KoSFoST. Contact:

Korean Society of Food Science and Technology, 635-4 Yeoksam-

Dong, Kangnam-Ku, Seoul 135-703, Korea. e-mail:

congress2001@seoul.kosfost.or.kr, Web: www.congress2001.or.kr

MAY 22-24 FI Asia. International exhibition and con-

ference on food ingredients, semi-finished products, product

development and quality control, Singapore. Contact: Ivonne

Twigt, Miller Freeman BV, Tel: +31 346 559444, Fax: +31 346

573811, e-mail: Roudejans@unmf.com, Web: www.fi-events.com/

asia.

JUNE 23-27 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) An-

nual Meeting, Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisi-

ana, USA. Contact: IFT, 221 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 300, Chicago,

Illinois, USA 60601-1291. Tel: +1 312 782 8424, Fax: + 1 312 782

8348, e-mail: info@ift.org

NOVEMBER 5-7 FI Europe. International exhibition and

conference on food ingredients, semi-finished products, product

development and quality control, London, UK. Contact: Ivonne

Twigt, Miller Freeman BV. Tel: +31 346 559444, Fax: +31 346

573811e-mail: mbos@unmf.com, Web: www.fi-events.com/hi

NOVEMBER 13-17 2nd IUPAC-International Symposium on

Sweeteners: Comprehensive Studies on Developments in the 21st

Century, Hiroshima, Japan. Contact: 2nf IUPAC-ISS Secretariat,

c/o Prof. Kazuo Yamasaki, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,

Faculty of Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734 8551,

Japan, Tel: + 81 82 257 5285, Fax: + 81 257 5289, e-mail:

yamasaki@pharm.hiroshima-u.ac.jp, Web: http//hey.to/iss/

NOVEMBER 27-29 FI Central Eastern Europe, Moscow, Rus-

sia. International exhibition and conference on food ingredients,

semi-finished products, product development and quality con-

trol. Contact: Ivonne Twigt, Miller Freeman BV, Tel: +31 346

559444, Fax: +31 346 573811, e-mail: Roudejans@unmf.com, Web:

www.fi-events.com/cee

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are the opinions of the contributors anddo not necessarily represent the official position of IUFoST Newsline and shouldnot be interpreted as such.

VENTS OF INTEREST

10 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

Preparations are being finalised for the XI WorldCongress of Food Science and Technology from April 22-27, 2001, organised by the Korean Society of FoodScience and Technology (KoSFoST), The second circularhas been published and can be viewed at the Congress XIwebsite at http://www.congress2001.or.kr. Of particularimportance right now, is the first Food Science andTechnology Internet Conference that is running until Octo-ber 2000. This Internet Conference, which is a majorpreliminary component of the Congress, features fourmajor topics:

• Asian Foods (non-fermented)• Food Fermentation & Biotechnology• Functional Food and Nutraceuticals• Food Processing/EngineeringEach topic will include six or more sessions in the

specified fields. The various sessions are open duringdifferent periods; however, abstracts may be submittedover the entire period of the conference until October2000.

Specialists in the area of Food Science and Technol-ogy, as well as interested colleagues from other disci-plines, are invited to visit the conference, to submit papersand to share and discuss the outcome of their work via theinternet.

Join us for an exciting debate and exchange of ideasin this virtual reality. We look forward to hearing from you.The site to visit is: http://www.foodcy2001.or.kr

To further whet your appetite for the treats in store in Seoulin April 2001, we begin here the first in a series of articles onKorea.

Soy sauce is aw e l l - k n o w nAsian condimentin western soci-

ety. Not many European and American people are aware,however, that there are numerous varieties of soy sauceand soybean paste in the Asian region. For instance, soysauce in Korea is very different from those of Japan andIndonesia. They are different because of the starter cul-ture process; Japanese Koji is made from a mixture ofcooked wheat and soybean, on which inoculated

Aspergillus oryzae is grown by controlled fermentation.On the other hand, Korean Meju ball is made from cookedsoybean mashed and moulded, and then grown withmoulds on outer surface and bacteria, mainly Bacillussubtilis, in the inner ball. The strong proteolytic activity ofB. subtilis contributes to the formation of very strongpungent flavour including ammonia. Therefore, Koreansoy sauce is good for soup or Chige, a sort of meat/fishand vegetable stew, while Japanese type is suitable forfood dips.

Our children may be surprised to learn that the originof soybean and soy sauce is South Manchuria and theKorean peninsular, which is far from the major soybeanproducing and exporting countries today, i.e. USA andBrazil. The archeological and historical evidence showsthat Koreans are one of the first users of soybean as foodin human history. It goes back to beyond the Bronze Ageof Korea (BC 1500). The history of fermentation technol-ogy in Korea goes even further back to the PrimitivePottery Age of the region (BC6000-4000). The invention ofsoybean fermentation technology stemmed from this soiland the fermented soybean products became an impor-tant protein and taste source for the early settlers ofNortheast Asian nomads. Typical Korean cuisine, Bulgogi,(roasted beef marinated with soy sauce), was created bythe marriage of the nomadic meat culture and the penin-sular soy sauce culture. In the records of Chinese Tangperiod (BC200-AD200), soy sauce flavor was described asKoraichui, in other words, Korean smell. For the Chinesewho used mainly fermented meat sauce, the soy saucesmell was an easily distinguishable stench of Koreans,similar to the cheese smell Asians perceive in Europeanpeople.

The Chige culture and fermented soybean productsform the basis of Korean cuisine. The eccentric aroma ofsoybean sauce (Kanjang) and paste (Doenjang) and hot-pepper soybean paste (Kochujang) give stimulating andpungent taste to Korean food. It is quite unique to tastethe stimulating hot flavour of Korea found in the middleof the eye-pleasuring mild food of Japan and the fried oilyflavour of China. The balanced taste achieved with theeccentric aroma and pungent spicy materials in hot Chige,still boiling in an earthenware bowl on the table, is thesecret of Korean cuisine.

2001Seoul, Korea

THE TASTE OF KOREABY PROF. CHERL-HO LEESECRETARY GENERAL OFCONGRESS XI

CONGRESS XIA P R I L 2 2 - 2 7 , 2 0 0 1

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 11

Beginning of 2000 years’, and two training courses “En-

teral-Parenteral Nutrition’, ‘Renal Diseases and Nutri-

tion’.

For further information and copies of proceedings

please contact, P. Arslan, tel: +90 3123119649, fax: +90

3123091310, e-mail: indc3master@hacettepe.edu.tr ❏

The KoSFoST/

ILSI joint interna-

tional symposium

on the subject of ‘Safety Assessment of Genetically Modi-

fied Foods’ was held October 29, 1999 in Seoul, Korea. The

program was organised by the Center for Food Science

and Technology (CAFST), Korea University under the

auspices of Korean Society of Food Science and Technol-

ogy (KoSFoST) and International Life Science Institute of

Korea (ILSI). The special symposium, sponsored by 11

different organisations, was attended by more than 200

participants.

The symposium program consisted of seven lectures

focused on safety assessment and regulations and label-

ling for genetically modified foods. Some of the invited

lectures were, ‘FAO/WHO Consultation on Biotechnol-

ogy and Food Safety’ (A. Whitehead, Italy); ‘Assessing the

Allergic Potential of Foods’ (S. Lehrer, USA); ‘Methods for

Detecting Genetically Modified Foods’ (G. Duijn, Nether-

lands); ‘Safety Assessment of Food Proteins’ (K. Engel,

Germany).

During the round table discussion, debaters from

food industry, academia, research institutes and consumer

associations presented their opinions on public health and

safety, validation of safety assessment, regulations and

labelling for genetically modified foods. For further infor-

mation on the symposium, please contact Prof. K-H. Kwon

at kosfost@mail.kosfost.or.kr ❏

The “7th ASEAN

Food Conference”

2000 will be held

from November 19-22, 2000 at the Westin Philippine Plaza,

Manila, Philippines. The plenary addresses will include

‘Food Security in the ASEAN’, ‘Promoting ASEAN Food

Trade and Joint Ventures in the Food Industry’, ‘Tradi-

tional Asian Foods and Relationship to Health and Life

Expectancy’, ‘The Impact of SPS & TBT Agreements on

International Trade in Food’.

Technical sessions will focus on emerging technolo-

gies, marketing trends, food processing. Gene technology,

food security, food safety. Food law, education.

For more information, please contact the Secretariat, 7th

ASEAN Food Conference 2000, Food Processing Division,

Industrial Technology Development Institute, General

Santos Avenue, Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philip-

pines, Tel. +632) 837-20-71 local 2187, 2210, Telefax

+(632) 837-31-67, e-mail: jgbautista@pacific.net.ph,

itdi@pacific.net.ph or nea@agham.dost.gov.ph, or visit our

website at http://home.pacific.net.ph/~itdi/. Contact

Persons: Lily Tanyag, Dulce Pilac and Ogie Prospero ❏

An international

workshop on Lac-

tic Acid Bacteria

brought together bout 50 experts in the biotechnology of

Lactic acid bacteria, from a dozen countries last Novem-

ber in Mysore. The workshop focussed especially on de-

veloping strategies for optimum utilisation of the beneficial

effects of lactic acid bacteria by food processing and pres-

ervation industry in developing nations. As well, lactic

acid production and applications were part of the Indo-

Swedish collaboration between CFTRI, Mysore, India and

the Biotechnology Department, Lund University, Sweden

under the support of the Swedish International Develop-

ment Agency (SIDA) and the Department of Biotechnol-

ogy of the Government of India.

Eminent chemical engineer and Fellow of the Royal

Society, Professor M.M. Sharma, inaugurating the work-

shop, highlighted the scope for further research in lactic

acid fermentation. “Lactic acid bacteria are very impor-

tant as they form a core of our traditional foods. The

carbon conversion efficiency of these bacteria is uncon-

ventionally high – as much as 90% - compared to several

other micro-organisms in use. Further the use of easily

available raw materials such as molasses makes a lot of

difference in terms of cost effectiveness for products pro-

duced by lactic acid bacteria. Further lactic acid could be

a good raw material for production of many important

substances such as biodegradable packaging material,

acrylic acid, pyruvic acid, and thus can play a major role

in the industry. Such materials, as also products like

bacteriocin which can be used as a food preservative, need

a lot of expertise for production”

Director of CFTRI, Dr. V. Prakash said that today’s

challenges in the field are quite different from what they

were some time back. “We need more from less, and that

(from page 7)

ASEAN NEWSJOSE G. BAUTISTA III, CHAIRMAN,FOOD CONFERENCE 2000

NEWS FROM KOREAPROF. KWAN HWA PARKCORRESPONDENT

NEWS FROM INDIADR. V. PRAKASH, CORRESPONDENT

12 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

should be our demand from Lactic acid bacteria also.

Therefore fundamentals about this bacteria need to be

understood well for maters to take a positive direction.

Involving genetic engineering, antigens, immuno regula-

tory proteins, bacteriocin, isolation of certain species from

traditional foods, understanding the probiotic role of lac-

tic acid bacteria, use of solid state fermentation, altering

the micronutrient profile, and other strategies have to be

channelled for realising the desired product, “ he said.

The workshop included five technical sessions during

which speakers from India, Sweden, Belgium, Zimbabwe,

Nigeria, Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Argen-

tina presented their research findings. It concluded with a

panel discussion on the scope and future trends in lactic

acid fermentation, in addition to recommendations from

the experts on the topic. ❏

With its registered

seat in Berlin, the

Association of Ger-

man Food Tech-

nologists (GDL)

was founded on November 16, 1990. It came into existence

through the fusion of the Union of German Food Tech-

nologists (BDL), which predominantly operated in North-

ern Germany, and the Association of Food Technologists

(VLT), which was principally active in Southern Ger-

many. With over 2600 individual and industrial members,

the GDL can be considered representative of all German

food technologists. Shortly after it was founded, and with

two delegates, it was admitted as a member into the

German National Committee (DNK) of the International

Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).

In contrast to many member states whose representa-

tion in IUFoST is through the respective national ‘Institute

of Food Technologists’, the German representation, the

DNK, which is currently chaired by Prof. Dr. h.c. W.E.L.

Spiess, is made up of delegates from various Associations,

who are mostly scientifically engaged with food. These

include for example delegates from associations of food

chemists, veterinarians and hygienists, food microbiolo-

gists, nutritionists or food engineers, and since its admis-

sion, also food technologists representing the whole of

Germany.

The GDL has now been empowered by the Deutsche

Forschnungsgemeinschaft, DFT (National Science Foun-

dation) to nominate evaluators to be elected, whose as-

signment will be the appraisal of financial supportability

of research proposals applied for by scientists in the food

sector.

Since its integration into the DNK, the GDL inten-

sively represents food technology in its entirety, i.e. the

scientific background and the interrelationship between

technologies of all the important food commodity groups

of plant and animal origin. German universities, engineer-

ing schools and polytechnics began teaching food technol-

ogy in this entirety at the end of the ‘60s. Certainly,

research and teaching of technologies of special food

commodity groups has been going on for along time, over

the past 150 years or more. There were institutes for

research and teaching (also study courses), i.e. in the areas

of brewery and distillery, sugar production or in the areas

of cereal, fruit and vegetable, as well as dairy products. In

addition, there have been corresponding associations in

which employees of these institutions and former stu-

dents are members.

The GDL has embodied food technology in its entirety

into its constitution. The major concern of the GDL is to

promote, on a non-profit basis food technology as a whole

– food sciences, general and technically oriented and

related sciences. It is also of great interest to the GDL to

intensify exchange of information and of views between

science and practice. For this purpose, the GDL organises

numerous general and technically oriented and related

sciences. To intensify exchange of information and views

between science and practice, the GDL organises numer-

ous meetings, seminars, symposia, conferences and con-

gresses. Regularly, joint conferences with other

organisations (i.e. the German Agricultural Society (DGL))

or with international exhibitions (i.e. “Anuga” or Food

Ingredient Exhibition-FIE) take place.

Of special importance to the GDL is the assisting of

students in the area of food technology and food sciences.

The GDL partakes through corresponding publications as

well as meetings with representatives of universities and

polytechnics in discussions on technologies, curriculum,

professional possibilities and job description of food tech-

nologists. Meetings are organised at the universities and

polytechnics during which former students share with

current students their experiences during their studies

and in their professional lives. Prizes are awarded for

excellent MSc. Thesis (Diplomarbeit). To a limited extent,

students who perform extremely well are assisted so they

may take part in important international conferences. The

ADHERING BODY PROFILETHE ASSOCIATION OF GERMANFOOD TECHNOLOGISTSPROFESSOR DR. ING K. GIERSCHNERCORRESPONDENT

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 13

GDL nurses linkage to national and international scien-

tific research institutes. It strives for contacts and collabo-

rations with associations and societies with common aims.

In this way, conferences between food technologists from

Switzerland, Austria and Germany are organised periodi-

cally under the so-called “three nation conference”.

On the whole, the GDL represents and protects the

interests of food technology and food sciences on a na-

tional level as well as an international level.

For excellent achievement in the area of Food Re-

search and Technology, the Professor Alfred Mehiltz Medal

is awarded by the GDL to internationally known scientists

at regular intervals. The first of several prize winners was

the late Prof. Dr. Ing Marcel Loncin, a famous food-

another participant that the draft agreement should re-

move the point that many people had been eating GM

food and, as yet, no significant adverse effect had been

detected. It was that participant’s opinion that “there is

plenty of evidence of adverse effects”. After several min-

utes of attempts by various people to cite documented

evidence, the L-Tryptophan tragedy came up as the most

credible example. Ralph Blanchfield from the Interna-

tional Union of Food Science and Technology countered

with a highly credible refutation of the assertion. If you

want the real story behind the L-Tryptophan story, I

suggest you contact Ralph.”

In several other interventions, Ralph also urged that

the HACCP approach, used in other aspects of food safety

to prevent hazards from given rise to risks, be applied to

GM foods. In discussion on the precautionary principle he

pointed out the necessity of distinguishing between haz-

ards for which there was sound scientific evidence ac-

cepted by a consensus of the scientific community and, at

the opposite extreme, speculation for which there was no

such evidence.

The draft summary prepared by two rapporteurs

stated the Edinburgh conference’s objective was to seek

common ground on whether and how applications of GM

technologies in the food and crops sector serve the needs

for society. The conference also scrutinised critically

whether the systems in place for the assessment of the

risks and benefits of GM food are considered trustworthy

by governments, industry, scientists, social interest groups

and regulatory agencies. A number of points on which

processing engineer.

Legally, the GDL like other registered associations, is

made up of an executive board, the advisory board, the

general assembly, the scientific committee and subject

groups. Furthermore, there are regional or local commit-

tees in various parts of Germany as well as special work

groups.

The current first chairman of three chairpersons is

Prof. Dr. Dietrich Lehmann; the General Secretary is Dipl.

Oec.troph. Hans-Peter Waldbrol, and the secretariat of the

association is in Bonn with the following address:

Godesberger Allee 142-148, D-53175, Bonn, Telephone

+49 0 228/37 90 80, Fax + 49 228 37 64 01. ❏

IUFoST was

among the select

organisations in-

vited to debate the

scientific and health aspects of genetically modified (GM)

foods at the recent (February 28 –March 1) major interna-

tional OECD Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The purpose of the 3-day conference of 400 invited

participants representing more than 40 countries was to

produce, at the request of the G8 governments, recom-

mendations for consideration at the forthcoming Group of

Eight industrial countries summit in Japan this July. This

follows a request from these leaders that the OECD “un-

dertake a study of the implications of biotechnology and

other aspects of food safety”.

Each session of the Edinburgh conference opened

with some substantial pre-invited presentations, which

were followed by a pre-selected panel of representatives.

The panel members were each allowed a maximum of 10

minutes to put forth their ideas and viewpoints. They

were followed by contributions from the floor. Both sides

of the debate were well represented by governments,

industry, international organisations, environmental and

consumer groups.

Ralph Blanchfield, the IUFoST representative and UK

delegate impressed participants. Commented Canadian

Senior Research Scientist, Dr. McHughen to AgBioView:

“During the wrap-up session, the Chair, Sir John Krebs,

asked if anyone could cite verifiable evidence of harm

from GM food. This question was raised after protest from

OECD & CODEX MEETING REPORTS

OECD CONFERENCE ONGENETICALLY MODIFIEDFOODS, SCOTLANDREPORT BY RALPH BLANCHFIELD

14 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

there was general agreement were identified. These in-

cluded the need for a more open, transparent and inclu-

sive debate and for openness and transparency in the

policy process, as well as an acknowledgement that there

is potential benefit to be gained from GM technology. In

addition, it was noted that, many consumers eat GM foods

and no significant effects have yet been detected on hu-

man health.

However, on many issues there continued to be op-

posing views. Some participants regarded human health

aspects of GM foods as inseparable from wider issues,

such as the impact on the environment, trade and socio-

economic factors and belief systems. There was also dis-

agreement on whether genetic modification is part of a

continuum for the development of tools for plant breed-

ing, or a fundamental change in the way new crops are

produced, necessitating new ways of assessing food safety.

A further point of contention concerned the issue of

whether individual countries should be allowed to de-

velop GM technology for food production according to

their own needs, or whether there should be a global

moratorium on GM crops. In addition, there was a lack of

complete agreement on such issues as the mandatory

labelling of GM foods, the usefulness of feeding trials in

animals of GM foods and on the process of assessing

consumer concerns. Finally, a need for further work was

identified in relation to the potential long-term effects of

GM food on human health, worker safety and the environ-

ment.

The conference ended with a call from the Chair for

the creation of an international consultative panel to ad-

dress all sides of the GM debate. This panel would deal not

only with agricultural and food aspects of biotechnology

but also with a range of other issues including, trade,

economic development, environmental and ethical ques-

tions. The final report will be sent to the G8 governments

and posted on the OECD Web biotechnology site at

www.oecd. ❏

During the last Co-

dex Alimentarius

Commission meet-

ing held in Rome,

Italy, it was agreed a task force would be formed to

establish guidelines and standards for genetically modi-

fied (GM) foods. This issue has become a matter of major

interest because of the many implications on safety, con-

sumer protection and national and international food

trade.

As it is known, the Codex Alimentarius Commission

was formed in 1963 and has at present a membership of

165 countries that represent about 98 percent of the world

population. With assistance from the Food and Agricul-

tural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organi-

zation (WHO) the CODEX objective is to develop standards

recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO), to

protect the health of the consumers and to eliminate

technical barriers on both national and international trade

of food. The standards developed are treated as the ‘de

facto’ international criteria on this area of trade.

The government of Japan offered to host this ad hoc

committee and, under extremely tight security fearing a

repetition of the protest seen at the WTO in Seattle last

year, the first meeting was held in Chiba sector, east of

Tokyo at the Makuhari Messe convention center during

March, 2000. The Committee Chairman was Prof. Hiroshi

Yoshikura, head of the Research Institute of the Interna-

tional Medical Center of Japan.

The meeting was attended by 230 participants from 33

countries and 24 non governmental organizations. The

International Union of Food Science and Technology was

represented by Eduardo R. Mendez from Mexico and

member of the Governing Council.

The agenda covered matters such as Risk Assessment,

Risk Management and Communication of Risks, Long

Term and Unintended Health Effects, Environmental Risk,

Consumer Participation and Ethical, Religious and Cul-

tural Considerations, Safety and Nutrition Assessments,

Food Security and Food Labeling,

Countries belonging to the European Union were in

favor of discussing only the genetically modified organ-

isms (GMOs) but other matters, such as foods produced

by other methods of biotechnology including switching,

insertion and deletion of genes, will be included in the

work of this task force.

Two working groups were established. The first one,

chaired by Germany, will work on the compilation of

analytical methods Letters will be circulated to collect

comments of member states and a meeting will be held

prior to the next session of the task force to report on the

findings.

The second group, chaired by Japan, will work on

general principles and guidelines on GMOs food analysis

and to develop definitions and related matters. Two meet-

CODEX ALIMENTARIUSAD HOC COMMITTEE ONBIOTECHNOLOGY, JAPANREPORT BY EDUARDO MENDEZ

OECD & CODEX MEETING REPORTS

IUFoST Newsline — June 2000 15

ing of this group will take place, one in November and the

second one just before the next task force in March 2001.

A discussion was held on the need to keep a strong

scientific base on this matter. IUFoST raised the point that,

as an international scientific NGO organization with its

membership consisting on the food technology associa-

tions, it could supply the highly qualified scientists and/

or information to the task force or the working groups.

On closing, the chairman Yoshikura made the point

that the task force should “respond correctly to the consumer’s

concerns” on this fast growing aspect of science. ❏

IUFoST was repre-

sented in this

meeting from

April 10-14 in Paris

France by Ing. Eduardo R. Mendez, member of the Mexi-

can Food Technology Association and the IUFoST Gov-

erning Council and Dr. John Lupien, member of the Italian

Food Technology Association.

The Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP)

is the committee of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius

Commission (CAC) which discusses and proposes to the

CAC changes and additions to the basic rules of procedure

and general guidelines.

The 15th session of the CCGP gave extensive consid-

eration to working principles for risk analysis and dis-

cussed a draft document on risk assessment, risk

management and risk communication.

Although the draft document was circulated to all the

CAC member governments and observer organizations

such as IUFoST, the CCGP session made very little progress

in reaching an approved text.

The meeting failed to make progress because there

was a strong disagreement between countries on an Euro-

pean Commission proposal to include the “precautionary

principle” in Codex texts on risk analysis.

Many delegations, including IUFoST, pointed out

that Codex work must be based on sound science. Some

delegations added that the “precautionary principle” was

a clear non-tariff barrier to trade which was being used for

political purposes to keep fully acceptable products out of

certain markets, and was also being used to block Codex

progress in approving food additives, veterinary drug

residues in foods, biotechnology and other important

Codex measures to improve trade in good quality and safe

foods. Considerable additional discussion will be needed

before a final Codex agreement is reached in risk analysis.

The CCGP also discussed ways and means to promote

consensus of member governments in reaching agree-

ment on all Codex texts, and viewed proposals on expand-

ing the Codex Executive. The discussions on risk analysis

were so extensive that there was insufficient time to re-

view deeply other agenda items as the role of science and

other legitimate factors, and on the revision of the Codex

Code of Ethics for International trade of Foods.

The CCGP agenda, working papers and report are

available on the FAO website (http://www.fao.org/

waicent/faoinfo/economic/esn/codex/ccgp). ❏

CODEX COMMITTEE ONGENERAL PRINCIPLESMEETING, FRANCEREPORT BY EDUARDO MENDEZ

The InternationalUnion of Food Sci-ence and Technol-ogy announced the

development of a broad range of programmes aimed atthe international food science and technology communityat its recent Governing Council meeting in Chile.

The meeting, held at the invitation of SOCHITAL, TheChilean Association of Food Science and Technology, wasin conjunction with the XI Latin American, CaribbeanSeminar and XIII National Congress of Food Science andTechnology, in which the IUFoST Governing Councilmembers participated.

This was the first meeting of the Governing Councilsince its election last October and the first to discuss

implementation of the new IUFoST Strategic Plan and theService Delivery Centres on which the Plan is based.

Potential projects, first identified by IUFoST delegatesat the 8th General Assembly in October 1999 have beenprioritised and IUFoST volunteers have begun work onmany of these. Some highlights:

SDC 1: The Korean Organising Committee has devel-oped an excellent and well-rounded programme forIUFoST Congress XI under the title Paradigm Shift – Harmo-nization of Eastern and Western Food Systems. The secondcircular is now available. The introduction of an InternetConference as a key component of IUFoST Congresses isof special note. This internet conference began in May andruns until October (http: www.foodcy.2001.or.kr)

Five short courses have been added to the pre-

OECD & CODEX MEETING REPORTS

SECRETARIAT NEWS

IUFoST GOVERNINGCOUNCIL MEETING, CHILEREPORT BY JUDITH MEECH

16 IUFoST Newsline — June 2000

Congress Programme and other ways of distributing shortcourses and scientific information, for example, throughvideotape or internet, are being explored.

Development of smaller congresses, on a yearly basis,in association with trade exhibitions, is moving forward.Preliminary discussions are underway with Egypt andSouth Africa. IUFoST will work with its other memberstoo in establishing these annual regional congresses.

SDC 2: The joint IUFoST/IFT Electronic Magazine,entitled The World of Food Science, will be officially launchedthis month. This magazine incorporates news from ourreporters and associates around the world and coverssuch topics as regulatory affairs, in-depth country reports,hot topics, business developments and much more. Morenews on the official launch of this magazine will followlater this month.

Internet Discussion groups related to topics such ashygiene, functional foods, labelling, management prob-lems of small and medium enterprise are being estab-lished. These discussion groups will produce informationstatements issued by IUFoST, through the Academy andScientific Council.

SDC3: An impressive number of databases have beenadded to the IUFoST home page. More are being incorpo-rated into the site on a continuing basis.

IUFoST will consider consultancy listings in the formof “yellow pages”. Individuals in related industry, ser-vices, labs will be invited to advertise.

SDC4: An overall strategy for food science and tech-nology is needed and efforts have begun to gather to-gether leading scientists and industry to debate and planfor the future.

The SDC group is investigating scientific and techno-logical needs from the perspective of developing coun-tries including post harvest, food quality, food safety andtransportation. The emphasis will be on export activity asit provides the revenue base. The need to harmoniseregulations is being considered.

Another working party is examining the scientificneeds of the developed countries. This will be addressedwith the objective of developing a strategic plan for foodscience and technology that will incorporate national,regional and international needs Identifying food-relatedproblems, research needs and ultimately providing rec-ommendations for national strategy consideration on suchissues as nutrition, hygiene, food engineering is the finalobjective.

SDC 5: Significant progress has been made in the areaof IUFoST education initiatives. A working group on corecurricula has been established and material is being gath-

ered from members. IUFoST partnership in an Educationwebsite is being explored.

Access to standardised food science and technologyeducation needs to be more available in all parts of theworld in order to address specific problems facing thefood industry. Long Distance Learning through Internetcourses and degree programmes, in cooperation with theUNU, would provide an answer that is accessible to most.Discussions are underway with the United Nations Uni-versity and the working group is operational.

Core curricula and non-academic training guidelinesneed to be developed based on available information.IUFoST members have been providing the Secretariatwith curricula guidelines, a working group has been es-tablished and its first meeting will take place this month.It was agreed that the framework of the European project,SOCRATES, would be incorporated into the planning.

This proposed project, Definition of Professional Ter-minology, is a joint venture with IUNS. There is need fora compilation of food science/food technology terminol-ogy to be prepared and distributed in major languages.

SDC 6: Closer association with other internationalgroups in food science and technology related fields isbeing investigated with the intention of working togetherand co-ordinating activities, including congresses. It wasagreed that IUFoST could best serve in the capacity of aninternational information broker. Establishing platformsfor special interest groups within food science and tech-nology follows naturally from the idea of IUFoST as theglobal information service for the industry.

Regional congresses, in association with trade exhibi-tions, will be discussed with members and further oppor-tunities will be sought for increased support of regionalsymposia and workshops in under-represented Asian,African and Latin American countries.

IUFoST Governing Council members and guests fromChile, Colombia, Costa Rica, USA and the InternationalUnion of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) worked together todevelop these initiatives, structure the programmes, andto provide realistic timeframes to assess progress. Recruit-ment of IUFoST supporters and members to work on themany projects underway has been successful but manymore interested individuals are still needed. Please con-tact the IUFoST Secretariat if you would like to be involved.

❏

THANK YOU SOCHITAL:The IUFoST Governing Council wishes to express its appreciation toProfessor Jorge Silva and members of SOCHITAL, The ChileanAssociation of Food Science and Technology, for the warm wel-come and hospitality extended to us during our recent meeting in Santiago.