Session And Expo Highlights At IFT15 In Chicago

CHICAGO, June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Food professionals from all over the globe will be gathering together at McCormick Place South for IFT15: Where Science Feeds Innovation, July 11-14. IFT15 will feature the latest food products, the hottest food trends, and the most important developments in the science of food.

This year at IFT15, IFT will have a special interactive exhibit on the expo floor called the Transformation Lab. Attendees will find out what kind of chewer they are, learn about the microbiome, and speak with specialists about the latest thinking on the food digestion and health connection.

View the video to see why people are heading to IFT15.

Special Presentations:

• Futurist Mike Walsh: Futurist and renowned author Mike Walsh will share emerging trends and technologies, as well as shifts in consumer behavior, and how these disruptive changes are likely to impact the food industry.
• CEO Panel: Join CEOs Alan D. Wilson of McCormick & Company, David Cotton of Flying Food Group, and James C. Borel of DuPont Pioneer, to discuss and debate major questions impacting the global food system. Moderated by Ron Insana, a highly respected business journalist and money manager who for over two decades has been a contributor to CNBC and MSNBC, this session promises to provide unique insights into the current consumer perception challenges faced by today's food businesses.
• FutureFood 2050: The Art of Producing a Science-Based Documentary: Learn about the making of the new documentary film, "Food Evolution," from Oscar-nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy, and get an insider's preview of the film clips prior to the documentary release in early 2016.
• Women in Food Science Business Panel: Explore the changing roles of women in the food industry while celebrating the accomplishments of women in food science. Liz Myslik, EVP, Brand Management, CEO, Fresca Brands, Fresca Foods, Inc.; Sara Mortimore, Vice President Product Safety, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, Land O'Lakes, Inc.; and Catherine Woteki, Ph.D., Under Secretary for Research, Education & Economics for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, share advice in pursuing leadership roles in food science.

Featured Lecturers:

• Mark Post, MD, Ph.D: Chair of Physiology; Vice Dean of Biomedical Technology, Maastricht University: Dr. Post will share his experience in developing the world's first lab grown beef (made from stem cells) to address the global need for more sustainable meat production.
•  Mark Heiman, Ph.D: Vice President and Chief Science Officer for MicroBiome Therapeutics: Dr. Heiman will discuss his research into the way food and food ingredients modulate the gastrointestinal microbiome.

Educational Session Highlights:

• Expanding the Universe of Sustainable Ingredients: Alternative Proteins and Why We Need to Rethink These Key Nutrients
• Applications of 3D Printing in the Improvement of Food Quality
• Insect Based Foods: Views from Different Perspectives
• New Chinese Food Regulation Systems and Laws to Ensure Import and Export Product Safety
• Bioactive Compounds and Functional Foods in Chronic Disease and Healthy Aging
• Fermented Functional Foods: Opportunities and Benefits
• Global Disasters and Food: An Inextricable Collision

Additional sessions presented from the following areas:

• Food Safety & Defense
• Food Processing & Packaging
• Product Development & Ingredient Innovations
• Public Policy, Food Laws & Regulations
• Professional Development
• Sensory Science 
• Food, Health & Nutrition
• Sustainability
• Food Chemistry
• Food Microbiology
• Food Engineering
• Teaching and Learning

Social Media:

• Follow IFT15 on Twitter @IFT, @IFTMedia, @FutureFood2050, hashtag #IFT15, Facebook and LinkedIn

Download the IFT15 Mobile App

• The mobile app is available for iPhone and iPad through the App Store (IFT15) and Android through the Google Play app store (IFT15). You can also access the app from any computer with an Internet connection.

Registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the media: contact [email protected] for more information.

About IFT

Founded in 1939, the Institute of Food Technologists is committed to advancing the science of food. Our non-profit scientific society--more than 17,000 members from more than 95 countries--brings together food scientists, technologists and related professionals from academia, government and industry. For more information, please visit ift.org.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE Institute of Food Technologists