AIFST convention to discuss sustainabilty

Over 100 international and local experts from the world of food will converge on Melbourne for the 43rd annual Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology (AIFST) Convention this July.

Opening with a session on Australian functional wild foods, this convention takes a close look at sustainability, regulations and innovation case studies, emerging trends, process optimisation, super foods, key advances in food engineering and more.

Some of the very topical aspects of packaging to be addressed by Juanita Day (Amcor Australasia) within the Sustainability In Food Packaging session include: ‘Do you know how MORE packaging can sometimes reduce environmental and economic impact?’ ‘Do you think adding renewable content to packaging material reduces or adds to the environmental impact?’

Day takes a serious look at ‘how responsible packaging can reduce world hunger and help save the planet’. Her presentation is likely to surprise and will definitely inform. Attendees will hear how Amcor has tackled reducing impacts and will see examples of the latest responsible packaging products and materials.

Professor Helen Lewis (Centre for Design, RMIT University, Melbourne) gives a critical review of the role of life cycle assessments (LCA) in evaluating the sustainability impacts of packaging and discusses an alternative approach that evaluates packaging design within a broader sustainability framework.

Attendees can hear how to improve energy efficiency of food concentration processes at the presentation by Minh Nguyen (University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW).

Plenary addresses include ‘The future of food’ (Marianne Gillette, Institute of Food Technologists President, Chicago, USA) and ‘Global trends and opportunities in food and nutritional sciences’ (Martin Cole, CSIRO Food & Nutritional Sciences, North Ryde, NSW).

Other topics include:

• Food protection 
• Key advances in food engineeringEmerging solutions in processing technology: a variety of speakers and topics;
• Bioactive compounds and allergens;
• Regulations - providing viewpoints from the regulator and industry experts in food safety and regulation. Speakers include Graeme Hodge (Monash University, Melbourne), Martin Cole (CSIRO Food & Nutritional Sciences), Anne Astin (Dairy Food Safety Victoria) and Pauline Ireland (Dept of Health, Melbourne).

The 43rd annual Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology (AIFST) Convention will be held on Sunday 25 July through Tuesday 26 July at the Sebel Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.

The Sustainability in Food Packaging session of the AIFST Convention is supported and co-chaired by the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP).

Registration details are available at www.aifst.com.au.