Food for Thought is a monthly, members-only e-newsletter from the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST).
PRESIDENTIAL FODDER
Holy smokes, I just had a look at the calendar and realized that our 2018 National Conference is just around the corner. Needless to say, I'm getting rather excited!

I am looking forward to meeting everyone in Niagara-on-the-Lake in May to learn all about the latest successes of our membership from across the country.

O ver the last month, we have been very busy finalizing our conference program and putting some last-minute touches on what promises to be a great gathering of food and beverage sector professionals. I hope you will give some consideration to joining us at this year's conference. Don't forget that discounted early-bird registration rates are only available for another week, so don't miss out. Make sure you take a moment to register soon !

Something else I'm quite excited about is that we have just released several parts of a Canadian Grocery Retail Guide on the 'members only' area of the website. This is a new value-added initiative created in partnership with the Saskatchewan Grocery Retail & Foodservice Value Chain Initiative . This first phase includes a set of resources focused on introducing new products into the grocery retail sector in Canada. Additional phases will roll out over the next several months.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to recognize two outstanding graduate students: Erin Hopkins from the University of Saskatchewan and Kithma De Silva from Dalhousie University . They have been named to represent CIFST at the IFT18 Global Challenge in Chicago this year.

On behalf of CIFST, we congratulate both Erin and Kithma for their leadership abilities and wish them all the best at this year's event. Good luck!

Warm regards,

Dr. Michael Nickerson
CIFST President
BITS & BITES
Nominations still open for CIFST Awards

There is only a week left to submit nominations for the 2018 CIFST Awards . The submission deadline is April 13th . Recipients will be announced and recognized during May's National Conference.

CIFST Awards include the W.J. Eva Award , the Golden Royal Maybee Award , the Food Innovation Award and the Emeritus Membership Award among others. Full details of all CIFST Awards can be found online along with downloadable nomination forms.
CIFST in the news

A regional competition in advance of the finals of CIFST's national student food product development contest being held at the National Conference in May made the news in Atlantic Canada recently.

On March 9, three students from Mount Saint Vincent University won the 'Mission Delicious' competition with their dulse veggie chips entry. Consisting of Yingying Xu , Huanyue Wang and Alina Chen , the victorious team will move on to compete in an Atlantic Canada-Quebec semi-finals for the right to participate in the national finals on May 27.

Originally published on March 20, the story appeared in the Bedford-Sackville Observer , a local paper in Halifax, NS.
Membership Renewal Drive ends

Every year, a number of individuals step forward and volunteer their time and expertise in an effort to make CIFST a better and more successful organization. This year has been no exception.

Over the past several weeks, an assembled team of enthusiastic member volunteers have been 'pounding the pavement' and contacting non-renewed CIFST members to remind them to commit to their membership once again this year. All told, 14 volunteers managed to reach out and make contact with 380 people by phone, email and through social media.

In recognition of their work, we want to say thank you and highlight the tremendous dedication of the following people:

Milana Abramovich (committee chair)
Nicole Avramenko
Sandra Berube
Tanya Der
Prasanth Kumar Sasidharan Pillai
Gail Nixon
Bithiah Selvarajan
Shahbaz (Peter) Sundhu
Debra Tomotsugu
Alphonsus Utioh
Roberto Veloso Pita
Raj Verma
Sumudu Warnakulasuriya

Congratulations to everyone on a job well done ... and thank you once again. Your efforts made a big difference!
UPCOMING SECTION EVENTS
For a complete list of confirmed CIFST Section events, please visit the CIFST website and the Section-specific pages.

April 5 (TONIGHT)
Spencer's at the Waterfront, Burlington, ON

April 12
Place Forzani, Laval, QC

April 26
Maple Leaf Foods Think FOOD! Centre, Mississauga, ON

May 10
Crowne Plaza, Moncton, NB
2018 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Early-bird rates end next week!

There is just a one week remaining to pay the discounted early-bird rates for CIFST's 2018 National Conference taking place May 27 to 29.

Program sessions at this year's conference include such topics as Food, Nutrition and Human Health , Food Bioactives , Nanotechnology for Healthy Foods , and Consumer Trends on Healthy Foods to name a few. A complete list of all scheduled sessions and presenters can be found on the National Conference page .

The 2018 CIFST National Conference is taking place at the White Oaks Resort and Spa in Niagara-on-the Lake, ON.

SPONSORSHIP BROCHURE - opportunities are still available
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