David Schmidt, president and CEO of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) presented his talk, Issues new and Retro: What is Driving Global Food and Health Trends, in a plenary lecture on Monday morning at IUFoST 2010.
IFIC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and with this in mind, Schmidt turned to the past and looked into the future of the food industry.
Considering the ‘new’ issues in the food industry, Schmidt mentioned tackling the approaches in determining food policies; not holding back on technology that can affect the world; obesity; processed versus natural food choices; the concerns of chemicals in food and the nutritional profiles of food products.
‘Retro’ concerns, still topical today, were that of malnutrition; GRAS ingredients; sodium and food biotechnology. Schmidt also touched on labelling in the food industry, a hot topic in SA with the new labelling policies coming into effect in 2011.
He mentioned the South Hampton study conducted in 2007 which had implications for the food colouring industry, using this as an example of how research can so easily be distorted by the media. Schmidt emphasised the importance of accurate consumer education.
