CHICAGO -- A newly formed strategic alliance between the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the National Restaurant Association (NRA) will debut with a special forum on food safety at the annual meetings of both organizations this summer in Chicago. The forum "Food Safety is Good Business: What's Time and Temperature Got to Do With it?" will address the relationship of time and temperature to safe food handling.
Representatives from the Association, Food & Drug Administration, Foodmaker Inc., Darden Restaurants Inc., H.E.B. Grocery Co., Food Marketing Institute, and Rutgers University's Department of Food Science will discuss cooking and food storage time and temperature specifications in restaurants and retail food operations. Topics will include the time and temperature parameters of the 1999 FDA Food Code; use of these specifications versus performance standards; use of computer technology to assess microbial risks; state-of-the-art temperature recording and monitoring systems for cooking, reheating, cooling, and storing foods; and coordination throughout the retail food chain to ensure safe food handling.
This forum will be the first of several activities to facilitate the exchange of information about food science and food service among IFT and National Restaurant Association members. Alliance objectives include enhancing food safety and quality in the food service industry worldwide, providing information on food service issues to professional and lay audiences, and enhancing the knowledge of restaurateurs and food retail employees about food safety.
The special forum will take place at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center on Mon., May 24 at 2 PM at the NRA's Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show and on Sun., July 25 at 9 AM at IFT's Annual Meeting & Food Expo®. All meeting registrants are welcome to attend.
Founded in 1939, IFT is a non-profit scientific society with 28,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in industry, academia and government. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues.
The National Restaurant Association, founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, representing 175,000 outlets and a workforce of 10.2 million employees. Along with its Educational Foundation, the Association works to represent, educate, and promote the rapidly growing restaurant industry.