Category:
PROFESSIONAL BODIES

Sister organisations:


AIFST - Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology
www.aifst.asn.au


CIFST - Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology
www.cifst.ca


DIAA - Dairy Industry Association of Australia
www.diaa.asn.au


IFST - Institute of Food Science & Technology (UK)
www.ifst.org
A sprawling, badly designed site (try to find the navigation menus!) that nonetheless contains a huge amount of information, manufacturing guidelines, links, news, directory and lots more. Sister organisation to NZIFST. Recommended are the IFST position papers in the "Hot Topics" section, complete with copious Editorial Footnotes that help maintain relevancy.
(UK).


IFT - Institute of Food Technology (USA)
www.ift.org
A previous review looked at IFT InfoSource (www.infosource.ift.org), the IFT's comprehensive directory of links to food science and technology sites around the world. The parent IFT site, www.ift.org, is a useful resource in its own right. As the largest and probably best-funded of the national food technology groups, IFT has provided support to the international food technology community for many years, mainly through its publications, exhibitions and conferences. The "Publications and Scientific Info" section of the IFT site is probably the most valuable area. The Document shop allows site users to purchase individual articles (US$10 per article) from IFT's publications, in particular, the Journal of Food Science, and Food Technology. JFS abstracts are free to view, and currently all FT content is free as well, for an introductory period. Also under "Publications and Scientific Info", IFT's Office of Science, Communications, and Government Relations (OSCGR) produces scientific reports on current topics of interest including IFT Expert Reports, Contract Reports by the Department of Science and Technology Projects, and Scientific Status Summaries. Anyone looking for definitive scientific explanations of food-related issues should start here. The list of online resources is too long to reproduce here, but a link to the joint IFT/IUFoST online magazine The World of Food Science (www.worldfoodscience.org), is worth mentioning, as is the Journal of Food Science Education (JFSE).
Under "Government Relations & Policy Activities" you will also find IFT commentaries, testimonies, statements, backgrounders and other material used in the Institute's PR and advocacy functions. There is a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence related to Biotechnology and Foods, and under "Press", an archive of IFT press releases on a wide range of food issues, recent examples including organics and acrylamide.
(USA).


IUFoST... International Union of Food Science and Technology
www.iufost.org


SAAFoST - South African Association for Food Science and Technology
www.saafost.org.za


Singapore Institute of Food Science and Technology
www.sifst.org.sg



Other:

AACCnet
www.aaccnet.org
(Reviewed Feb/March 03 issue)
The AACC (American Association of Cereal Chemists) is the "World's Largest Organization of Grain-Based Food Professionals", with nearly 4,000 members who are specialists in the use of cereal grains in foods. Its web site incorporates news and events, directories, information on careers and education, details of the sample analysis service offered by the AACC, and links to related sites. Members and nonmembers alike are able to access the table of contents for the widely used AACC Methods of Analysis along with the abstracts for the individual methods themselves. The site gives access to the AACC journals Cereal Chemistry and Cereal Foods World , with searchable current and archive material, as well as a bookstore providing access to their extensive range of books. Cereal Chemistry abstracts, once available only to subscribers, are now searchable for all users. Access to full text articles requires an online subscription. Topical issues covered on the site include acrylamide in food, and GM testing of grains.
AACC also provides a worthwhile functional foods resource (not obviously accessible from the AACC home page), Functional Foods Online, www.aaccnet.org/FuncFood/, which contains a Resource Center with peer-reviewed articles (with links to abstracts and full-text articles), research updates, perspectives, and links to related sites. A separate section covers "Defining Dietary Fibre" - www.aaccnet.org/DietaryFiber/.
(USA).


IPENZ - The Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand
www.ipenz.org.nz


National Network of Technological Societies
www.nnts.org.nz


Nutrition Society of New Zealand
www.nutritionsociety.ac.nz

NZOQ - NZ Organisation for Quality
www.nzoq.org.nz


The New Zealand Guild of Food Writers (NZGFW)
www.foodwriters.org.nz
(Reviewed Jul/Aug 05 issue)
The Guild of Food Writers is the professional body in this country for food journalists and others involved in writing about, presenting, promoting, illustrating, and teaching about food and beverage. It was formed in 1987 as a networking base for food journalists and those in allied occupations. All of the Guild's members interface with the public in some way – through magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, publishing, teaching, consultancy, PR, advertising, technical writing, catering, restaurant reviewing, food styling, gourmet tourism, or photography. They include our most serious foodies, many of whose names and faces will be familiar through the media. Several NZIFST members belong; corporate membership is also possible. Apart from regular meetings and workshops, NZGFW publishes the excellent Pen & Palate journal, administers the Culinary Quills food journalism awards, and holds a biennial conference.
The Guild of Food Writers website was launched in February this year. An 'Events' calendar lists a wide range of conferences, workshops, promotional and charity events, food & wine festivals and trade shows. The 'Links' page provides a list of (and links to) the websites of Guild members, grouped by category, showing just how diverse a group this is. From Annabel Langbein to Zespri, this is a comprehensive cross-section of who's who in New Zealand food and beverage. 'About the Guild' and 'Membership' pages explain the Guild's activities in more detail. A password-protected Members-only area incorporates a Members' noticeboard and allows members to download current and back-issues of Pen & Palate. There is also a directory of Guild administrative contacts.
(NZ).


The Oils & Fats Specialist Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry
www.foodworks.co.nz/oilsfats/
(Reviewed Nov/Dec 04 issue)
The Oils & Fats Specialist Group of the NZIC is the small, energetic group of enthusiasts behind the Oils & Fats News published in NZIFST's journal, Food New Zealand, headed by their lipophyllic Chairman, oils and fats guru, Dr Laurence Eyres. With new understandings of the health benefits, and the rise of new industries based around 'good' oils such as olive, avocado and fish, this is an area of exciting advances in food science and nutrition. The Group’s new website is intended to help keep its members in touch with both industrial and academic developments in the oils and fats field, and as a resource for anyone else interested in this often-misunderstood group of food components. Archived ‘Oils & Fats News’ newsletters are posted in the News & Events section, along with details of workshops and conferences run by the Group. The Library section contains a collection of technical papers and articles – one of the first to be added is the excellent What is the Optimal Dietary Lipid Intake?, a review of the current scientific status of lipids in the diet. Another is The Role of Fats in Baking – Butter, Margarine and Spreads. The site also contains a useful Links page, and a Members-only passworded section, currently holding a set of presentations form the 2003 Pacific Lipids conference, and other technical papers.
(NZ).


The Royal Society
www.royalsoc.ac.uk
One of the oldest and most respected sources of scientific opinion, the Royal Society has been actively participating in public debate in several areas involving agriculture and food, including genetic modification and infectious animal diseases. One of their featured issues is the recent report "Genetically modified plants for food use and human health - an update", available for download as a .pdf file. The Society issues status reports, media releases and inquiries into a range of issues, and houses a large scientific literature resource.
This is a science web site that really looks the part. Not at all boring and conservative, it is clean and clearly laid out, featuring graphics that reflect the colourful history and wide-ranging activities of this famous institution. Related web sites include the equally impressive Science in Society programme, set up as a result of the growing concern that the public's confidence in certain areas of science was failing, and the SC1 science for students site.
(UK).


The Royal Society of New Zealand
www.rsnz.govt.nz


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