In Defense of Food!

In Defense of Food!

Special thank you to the British Columbia Food Technologists for hosting a SUPER and FABULOUS Pacific Northwest Section Conference. I had the best time learning about new foods, industry trends, and a great discussion on quality and the role of food science in our everyday lives.
Tools new to me that I want to share with you:
1. The Canadian government has defined “Gluten Free” as <20ppm – up to 6% of the North American population is gluten sensitive. 2. There are four approved auditing programs for GFSI certification, not all are suitable for everyone, and any level of passing certification is GREAT! Be proud of your customers and suppliers with a BRC Grade C or higher. 3. Preventing food-borne illness requires multiple barriers for control. The minimum is never good enough to keep your product and consumers safe 4. Look outside for the next inspiration – a special sugar from Thailand instead of agave or buckwheat and hemp to replace common rice and wheat; a gap in the market will have low to no sales, that’s why it’s a gap; Russia is on the edge of both the Earth and food manufacturing trends, keep your eyes open! I especially enjoyed two presentations by our new IFT president Dr. John Ruff. He is articulate, funny and charismatic. I felt like he was open to hearing me talk about our part of the food world and appreciate his interest in the ongoing development of the Western Region’s IFT efforts. John spoke about needing to be proud of our industry and that food science will feed all people to the ends of the Earth, be proud of our roots!