Food scientists get passionate

Strong emotions will be part of the agenda at the 28th annual AIFST convention in Sydney in July when food scientists from Australia and other nations gather to hear the latest research and talk about their passion for food.

'Passion 4 Food - Skills for Success' is the theme of this year's convention which is again co-locating with FoodPro at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, 10-13 July.

Obesity, health and nutrition, food security post the World Trade Center tragedy, whether food can prevent cancers, food safety, genetic engineering and future directions in food are just some of the topics that will be discussed.

The Convention streams cover science, technology, business commercialisation, careers, aquaculture, food engineering, ingredients, health and nutrition, bio technology, packaging, skills for success, and sustainability including water usage.

Delegates are sure to hear some lively debates throughout the convention including 'Did beer and pizza make Norm fat?', a debate about available food and dietary choices, and 'Food is an art vs food is a science', when three celebrity chefs clash with food scientists.

Plenary speakers and topics include:

'Everything I eat is either fattening, expensive or causes cancer in mice' by Prof Bernard Steward who is head, cancer control program, South Eastern Sydney Public Health Unit and director of the Cancer Services in South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service.

'Improving the supply chain using new packaging technologies' by Ann Stirling Roberts who is a director of Pira International and has worked in the packaging industry since 1979.

'Passionate about science in the food industry - vision for partnership with science in the Australian food industry' by Prof Alastair Robertson who is CEO of Food Science Australia.

'Material science applied to physical state changes in foods' by Prof Ted Labuza who is a Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Food Science in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota.

New single and half-day registrations are also available.