EFCE Section on Food 

Introduction - Objectives of the Section

 
The EFCE Section on Food was founded in 2004 emanating from the previous Food Working Party, which was one of the oldest working parties of EFCE. To organise the start-up of the new Section, the signer was elected for its chairman. The Section was created with the aim of bundling the European activities in the field of food process engineering and to cooperate with other organisations active in comparable fields. It is known that further disciplines are required in order to sufficiently address the field. Thus experts on food science of different disciplines as well as engineers should contribute to the new Section on Food.
In order to organise a new Section on Food in Europe, the international surroundings have also to be considered. As a globally acting organisation, the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), founded in 1962, is to be mentioned. IUFoST has a large network at its disposal and runs national committees in many countries. The International Society of Food Engineers (ISFE) is an organisation to promote the sharing of information on food engineering and related topics. ISFE is connected to IUFoST and was founded in 2004.
The International Association of Engineering and Food (IAEF) is also acting globally. The main assignment of this association is to elect the president and organisers for the next International Congress of Engineering and Food (ICEF) as well as the host country. ICEF is the most important congress in our field, usually held in a four year cycle at different locations. The next International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF 10) will be held in Viña del Mar/Chile on April 20-24, 2008. Within Europe, the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) operates with 80 societies in 21 affiliated European countries. This non-profit association provides a platform for cooperation among food scientists, engineers, technologists and business in food and food-related areas. EFFoST offers a very broad forum and keeps up many activities including issues of education and global harmonisation of food regulations.

Having in mind the numerous international organisations in food science, engineering and technology, the EFCE Section of Food is to be developed in a way that double work is avoided. Collaboration with the existing international organisations should be arranged, especially with the European Federation of Food Science and Technology. A special challenge is the large number of congresses, conferences, workshops and other meetings, organised by the international organisations named above. The numerous national societies in the field of food science and engineering are also very active and organise many events. The members of the EFCE Section on Food agree to the fact that further classical meetings in the field of foods in Europe are not required. Thus a new concept should be developed.

In nearly all European countries the national societies offer a forum for young PhD-students to present their ongoing research. These annual national meetings are very successful and profitable for both, the young PhD-students learning how to present and discuss a paper on the one hand, and industry looking for excellent young scientists and engineers on the other hand. Up to now, such meetings are only held on a national level. It is about time to offer this opportunity on a European level.

According to the decision of the Section members in Valencia on October 2005, the members of the General Section Meeting (Nantes, September 2006) confirmed to organise a European Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology every year in cooperation with EFFoST, the European Federation of Food Science and Technology. The workshop will be held at different locations in Europe every year with the best European PhD-students, who will finish their dissertation in food engineering and technology soon or have recently received a PhD in this field. The young speakers of the workshop should be selected by their national organisation responsible for food engineering and technology or by a national expert committee. The basic selection criteria and further information are summarised in the  “ Call for Nominations ”. Each European country may nominate one (small countries) or two (large countries) candidates. The workshop is planned to be a forum for excellent young researchers, presenting their recent results and discussing it with people from academia and industry. At the end of each workshop the very best presenter will be honoured by the “Julius Maggi Research Award”, sponsored by Nestlé Product Technology Centre Singen.

The First Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology , hosted by Professor Dietrich Knorr, Technical University of Berlin, and organised by the EFCE Section on Food in cooperation with EFFoST and Technical University of Berlin, was held in Berlin on May 21 and 22, 2007. 15 young scientists from 10 countries, selected by their national organisation or expert committee, presented high level papers.
Dr. Karbowiak, Saint-Apollinaire/France, got the ”Julius Maggi Research Award 2007” for the very best presentation .
Dr. Karbowiak got his PhD in Food Science in 2006 at ENSBANA (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Biologie Appliquée à la Nutrition et à l’Alimentation), Burgundy University, Dijon/France. This workshop of excellence, according to the opinion of the more than 60 participants, was a great success.
The Second European Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology, again organised by the EFCE Section on Food in cooperation with EFFoST, will be held in Paris on May 26 and 27, 2008 and will be hosted by Professor Gilles Trystram, ENSIA Massy. The third workshop in 2009 will be hosted by Professor Paolo Masi in Naples/Italy.

As soon as the EFCE Section on Food is working, its direction should change hands to a younger member, since the chairperson should still be active in her or his professional life. During the General Meeting of the Section members on May 21, 2007 in Berlin, Professor Dietrich Knorr , Technical University of Berlin, was elected unanimously to chair the Section on Food.

Karlsruhe, May 23, 2007

Helmar Schubert
Past Chairman of the EFCE Section on Food
University of Karlsruhe
Institute of Engineering in Life Sciences
Section of Food Process Engineering
Kaiserstr. 12
D-76131 Karlsruhe

Program of the First Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology
Call for Nominations for the Second Workshop