SOFAD Newsletter - Issue 2 May 2014

Society of Food Associated Disciplines

Introduction SOFAD is an association which brings together social, career and academic

opportunities for individuals interested in a range of food associated disciplines

(Food Science, Nutrition, Food Safety, Food Process Engineering, Dietetics,

Population Health Nutrition, Exercise Nutrition and Wine Science).

It also raises awareness of the importance of these disciplines.

Upcoming Events


SOFAD Newsletter M A Y 2 0 1 4 — I S S U E 2

MAY JUNE JULY

Opportunities in Food and

Wine (Networking Lecture)

Galbraith’s Ale House

Brewery Tour

Nutrition Cooking Skills

Class

Monthly SOFAD Lightning Seminar

Past Events 2013

Founded in June 2013 by

Vic Shao-Chih Chiang

SOFAD Opening - Expo Stall

SOFAD Opening - Lecture Briefings

Social Event - Meet, Greet and Drinks

Careers Insights in the Food Industry

A talk from Fonterra. Delivered by

Fonterra graduate recruitment

manager, Ongelle Buckley and dairy

technologist, Yi-Chern Lee.

Nutrition and Dietetics Career and

Academic Talk

Delivered by Beef & Lamb NZ

Nutrition manager, Fiona Greig and

University of Auckland Lecturer, Dr.

Andrea Braakhuis.

2014

SOFAD Welcome

Fresher’s and Orientation Stall

SOFAD Welcome - Shadows Meet

and Greet

Careers Insight Event

Four speakers with different

backgrounds in food science, wine

science, dietetics and food engineering -

Trang Duong, Amy Liu, Toby Gundesen

and Dr. Frank Benkwitz.

Social Event - Silo Park Night Market

Lightning Seminar Series

Consists of multiple 5 minutes oral

presentation in topics around food

associated disciplines followed by a

small group networking discussion.

M A Y 2 0 1 4 — I S S U E 2

S O F A D N E W S L E T T E R

M A Y 2 0 1 4 — I S S U E 2

Genetic discovery points to bigger yields in tomato

Florigen is a gene that controls the flower production in

tomato production dramatically increased. This

provided insight for scientists to carryout future

modification work in this gene to enable higher level of

tomato productions.

By Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory

Half of meat product samples contained DNA of wrong animals

In the UK, meat samples obtained from multiple cities were tested and 50% of the

samples were found to contain DNA from unmentioned species, demonstrating the

wide spread contamination of meat. In 20% of the samples, the DNA of the undeclared

species was a major ingredient, accounting for levels between 60 – 100%.

By The Guardian

Current News


Current News Mechanism elucidated: How smell perception influences

food intake

It was discovered I a mice model, the endocannabinoid

system, involving CB1 cannabinoid receptors, controls

neuron signaling pathways from the olfactory system. This

endocannabinoid system is influenced by appetite signals and

can in turn impact on the responsiveness of the olfactory

system, thus partially explaining the physiological perception

of food through the sense of smell.

By INSERM

Nutraceutical intervention improves older adult’s cognitive functioning

A recently developed nutraceutical named “NT-020” contains extracts from blueberries and green tea

in combination with vitamin D3 and amino acids, including carnosine. A clinical trial, involving

105 healthy adults above 65 years of age, demonstrated significant improvement in the cognitive

processing speed.

By University of South Florida

905 Kids ill in Shizuoka norovirus outbreak

Thirteen public elementary schools were closed in Hamamtsu

(Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan) due to the mass outbreak of food

poisoning, where more than 905 pupils, including 40 teachers

and staff were affected. Norovirus was identified as a source of

this food poisoning and is suspected to originate from the

school lunches.

By The Japan Times


M A Y 2 0 1 4 — I S S U E 2


Careers Pathway Dr. Robert Posey

Food Forensics Ltd.

Food Forensics is a commercial testing laboratory

committed to the enhancement of food traceability

and security, which involves using cutting edge

techniques within the field such as the Stable Isotope

Ratio Analysis (SIRA). The stable isotope

composition of a food product is determined by the

location and conditions of the product. We take

advantage of this “geographical fingerprint” to

enable us to determine country and region of origin

and even farming methods such as organic vs.

conventional fertilisers. After recent food scandals

such as the horse meat incident earlier last year, it is

now more important than ever to provide new tools

that will help improve food security and also

strengthen consumer confidence.

Inhae Kim

AAFC

The popularity and consumer perceived

importance of nutraceuticals (that can be

sourced from plants, animals,

microorganisms or marine sources) is a

growing market because people are

becoming more aware of the relations

between health and dietary components.

Once the development team have optimised

the laboratory scale synthesis or extraction,

the nutraceutical engineer is responsible for

up-scaling this manufacture to the industrial

level. The role is dynamic and includes

working with other nutraceutical engineers to

design, construct and operate on all aspects

of the manufacturing including by-product

processing, packaging and distribution.

Claire Turnbull

Mission Nutrition

I am a UK trained Dietitian and fitness trainer in

New Zealand. At Mission Nutrition, I run and

provide current and credible nutrition advice for

individuals and families. We also run workshops in

the workplace to inspire and motivate people to eat

well and take care of themselves. Alongside Mission

Nutrition, I am the Nutritionist for Healthy Food

Guide Magazine, the Millennium Institute of sport

and feature regularly on News Talk ZB and TVNZ

Breakfast. In the media my role is to help everyday

New Zealanders understand about how the food

they eat affects their body and health, as well as to

provide practical ideas and solutions to help people

eat well. Penguin has also recently published my

bestselling book – Lose Weight for Life.

M A Y 2 0 1 4 — I S S U E 2

Research at the University of Auckland Electrospinning Nano-Encapsulation

Dr. Neo Yun Ping; Professor Conrad Perera; School of

Chemical Sciences

Electrospinning is a technique that involves the application

of strong electrical field on a polymer solution. The high

surface area to volume ratio of the nano-fibres shows an

opportunity for the development of new and improved

encapsulation methods for the food industries. In our study,

we have successfully electrospun a food grade biopolymer,

zein into fibres with diameters ranging from 280–380 nm.

This food grade nanofabrication offers new approach to the

industry for the development of nano-encapsulated products

where the kinetic process surrounding release can be

manipulated through various electrospinning parameters. It

could be used as bioactive packaging which could provide a

better solution to food packaging industries over the

increasing concern about synthetic plastics.

Greenshell Mussel Engineering

Meng Zhou; Professor Murat Balaban; Department of

Chemical & Materials Engineering

The objective of my research study was to compare the lipid

classes and fatty acid profiles of oils extracts from both male

and female New Zealand GreenshellTM mussel samples

that are raw, heated or high pressure processed. This

research combined the food nutritional chemistry and

different food engineering processing treatments, that aids in

the investigation of the medical functional effects of our

unique GreenshellTM mussels. It was a great experience to

work in food engineering where I could apply the strong

science aspect with engineering work in real practical

business.

Cyclic Voltammetry Antioxidant Analysis

Hande Karaosmanoglu; Associate Professor Paul

Kilmartin; Associate Professor Jadranka Travas-Sejdic;

School of Chemical Sciences

Antioxidants are important food and beverage components,

but current determination techniques have various

disadvantages in aspects of time, sensitivity and

interference. We have used cyclic voltammetry to provide a

very effective antioxidant analysis for tea and coffee

samples, and have improved the electrode sensitivity by

including a special conducting polymer electrode layer.

Conducting polymers are of interest in their own right, and

their discovery as plastics that conduct electricity involved

the New Zealander, Alan MacDiarmid, who received the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work in 2000. In

comparison with pure antioxidant compounds and several

phenolic and antioxidant assays, the findings showed that

the electrochemical sensor is easy to handle and provides

rapid results.


M A Y 2 0 1 4 — I S S U E 2

The Committee

President

Janine Lawton

Representative of SOFAD

Leading and organising SOFAD

executive members

Organisation and running of

meetings

Delegator and overseer of major

tasks

Inspiring and motivating

Vice President & Treasurer

Linh Ta

Assistance with th eleading and

organising of SOFAD

Financial recording, planning and

budgeting

Manage funding applications

Correspondence and communication

with SOFAD members

Advisor

Trang Duong

Gerneral Advisory

Connection with external relations

Provide support for club activities

and organisation

Head Events Co-Ordinator

Brianna Dean

Leading events organisation

Delegation of tasks relating to

events

Promotion and running of events

External communicationrelating

with events

Financial management of events

Newletter content reviewer

Events Co-Ordinators

Shirley Li, Wayne Lee & Agata

Djongianto

Events organisation

Promotion of events

Running of events

Photographer

Brian Fu & Seresa Lapaz

Photography for SOFAD related matters

Secretary

Charlie Chan

Internal communcaitons

Keeping non-financial records

Distributing minutes and agenda

Organisation of files and online

documenationa

Media Designer

Charlotte Oelofsen

Design of posters and other

documents

Graphic adveristing and promotion


Founder & Advisor


General advisory

External communication

Lightning Seminar Series chairperson

Newsletter editorial lead

Website content moderator

External Communication

Shikha Punir

Lighting Seminar Series chairperson


Contact Details

Our email:

[email protected]

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Editorial Team


Brianna Dean

Shikha Pundir

Charlotte Oelofsen


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