Educational programming at the Annual Meeting & Food Expo will get under way early with a series of Pre-Annual Meeting Short Courses held at the LVH-Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. This year’s schedule includes 11 courses ranging in length from one to two-and-a-half days starting on June 23, and wrapping up on June 25. Returning short courses include “Food Science for the Non-Food Scientist,” “Ingredient Applications for Product Innovation and Consumer Health,” “Labeling Requirements and Implications for Foods Marketed in the U.S.,” “Microencapsulation in Food Applications,” and “Sensory Testing for Product Development and Claims Support.” In addition, there will be six new short courses offered this year. They are:
- Integrating Risk-based Preventive Controls into your HACCP Program (June 23–25): This 2.5 day course features an in-depth look at the various prerequisite programs required for creating Risk-based Preventative Controls to satisfy recent regulatory changes affecting both FDA and USDA products. Geared for food industry professionals of all levels, this class is especially recommended for HACCP Team members, QA/QC personnel, and Food Processing Plant supervisors and managers who would benefit from this current-events based curriculum format provided by knowledgeable, experienced industry and regulatory professionals. Meets HACCP training requirements for companies operating under regulatory-required HACCP plans by introducing basic principles, how to conduct a Records Review, and best-practice implementation resources; course also meets SQF, BRC, and other 3rd party audit requirements for becoming “HACCP certified” in a dynamic hands-on small-group format.
- Flavor Interactions in Food (June 24–25): This course provides an overview of flavor chemistry and technology, interaction of flavors with food ingredients, application of flavors in food products, and the assessment of flavor quality changes. As an advanced complement to IFT’s primer online course, this two-day face-to-face course covers more in-depth training about the physical and chemical composition of flavors, sensory evaluation and descriptions of flavors, and the regulatory framework for use of flavor ingredients in the food and beverage industries.
- Commercializing Innovation in Food Products (June 25): This course will cover key aspects of commercializing innovation from ideation, sourcing, intellectual property considerations, valuation, and implementation to market launch. This course will combine current theoretical practices with case studies from the food industry to illustrate the subject matter. It will be useful for any food scientists who would like to get into finding and commercializing innovation.
- Designing Carbohydrate Supramolecular Structures for Food (June 25): This course will lead you to the exciting frontiers of carbohydrate design for foods and how these initiatives can eventually benefit your business goals, i.e., to make food safer, have enhanced sensory quality, and be more nutritious. The course will focus on carbohydrate-based supramolecular structures—the assemblies among molecular components or subunits for achieving specific functionalities, such as enhanced texture and the protection and delivery of bioactive food components. This is a first-time partnership with the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research of Purdue University, a leader in carbohydrate research and development. The course will be taught by renowned academic and industrial leaders in the field of carbohydrates.
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Training: Understanding You and How You Work with Others (June 25): Discover how your personality impacts your day-to-day activities and how you can more effectively work with others. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) instrument, which will be completed by registrants at the course, you will learn how you direct your energy, take in information, make decisions, and orient yourself to your environment. The result is the popular four-letter personality type code used by organizations worldwide. This highly interactive course is useful for those looking for ways to work more effectively on teams, improve performance management, and further personal development.
- Quality Changes in Foods Processed Using Alternative Processing Technologies (June 25): This course will provide a view of the impact of selected alternative processes on quality of the same product: tomatoes. The course begins with studies on kinetics of changes in ascorbic acid, color, phenolics, lycopene, pectin methylesterase, polygalacturonase, and a target microorganism, Bacillus coagulans subjected to ohmic, microwave, and high pressure processing; and moves through the physical operation of pilot scale operations for these technologies. Collectively, the course will provide a unique case study on the effect of three different, emerging process technologies on the same product, as well as the consumer, nutritional, sensory, and regulatory considerations needed to make practical decisions.
