Food Packaging Newsletter

Food Packaging Newsletter Fall 2008 Message from the Chair: What are we doing? Where are we going? Can we get there from here? Bruce Welt, University of Florida The opportunity to serve as Chair of the Food Packaging Division for a second consecutive term offers an opportunity to learn from the immediate past and to attempt, if need be, to alter course. One thing that is clear about FPD is that there is a core of dedicated folks who work tirelessly keeping this division running. Unfortunately, these dedicated folks also seem to be playing musical chairs on your division’s executive committee. The fact that this is happening suggests that there are opportunities to improve involvement, performance, diversity and relevance of your division. This means that there are great and immediate opportunities for you to get involved in your professional society. It also means that we have some tough questions to ask of ourselves. These questions might be “where have we been?” What are we doing? Where are we going? Can we get there from here? Before deciding where we should go, it is useful to understand where we have been. I had the opportunity to pose such a question to a long time FPD member, the very youthful, handsome and talented, Dr. Aaron Brody. Some key points of his response follow: • There were about 25 other IFT divisions when FPD was formed in 1973. • FPD’s lifetime service award, known as the RiesterDavis Award, is named after founding members, Don Riester and Rees Davis, who had both passed away by the time FPD completed its initial probationary period as a division. • During these formative years FPD events attracted the largest attendance of all events hosted by IFT. • Early on, FPD was recognized as the premier source of objective food packaging information. The last bullet came with a sting since Dr. Brody pointed out that IFT recently organized a conference on food packaging without FDP input and, last year, IFT published a white paper on food packaging without FPD’s knowledge until it was published. Ouch! ENSIDE THIS ISSUE 1, 2 Message from the Chair 2 5 6 7 7 8 9 Division Executive Committee Members 3, 4 Riester-Davis Award Presentation Graduate Poster Competition Winners Graduate Fellowship Winner Executive Committee Meeting Notes from IFT Meeting So, Who Won the FPD Elections? Student Representative Profile – Cristian Samperio Personal Message from IFT Board of Directors Member Packaging Sustainability Symposium at IFT Meeting Clearly, FPD has a proud history. Recently, however, we seem distracted (or better yet, we ARE distracted). The world is changing quickly in just about every way imaginable. Each year, as we all do more with less, we look forward to doing even more with even less in the following year (at least that is the way things are at the University of Florida). Food, fuel and raw material prices are soaring. Consumers are choking after years of gorging themselves on easy credit. Emerging markets are going through fits and starts. Companies and families are tightening belts. Times are tough and change everywhere. In the spirit of an old, but good cliché, “when the going gets tough…” From my perspective, your FPD leadership seems mired in a routine of submitting paper to its mother ship, IFT, in accordance with some great sidereal movements. We seem caught in an endless loop of re-electing each other to office, identifying symposia topics, taking turns finding volunteers to help fill speaker slots for, too-often, under-attended symposia, reviewing budgets, etc. Of course, all of these things need to happen, but in my humble opinion, this is not what the focus should be. I think there should be more. I think I am not alone. (continued p. 2) Food Packaging Newsletter 1 Food Packaging Division Executive Committee 2008/2009 BRUCE WELT, Chair Dept. of Agricultural & Biological Engineering University of Florida Gainsville, FL 32611 bwelt@ufl.edu YOONSEOK SONG, Chair-Elect US Food and Drug Administration Division of Food Processing & Packaging Process Engineering Branch 6502 S. Archer Rd. Summit-Argo, IL 60501 ysong@cfsan.fda.gov RAFAEL AURAS, Secretary School of Packaging Michigan State University E. Lansing, MI 48824 aurasraf@msu.edu Members at Large: Tara McHugh (USDA-WRRC) Melvin Pascall (Ohio St. U.) Guarav Tewari (Tewari De-Ox) Carol Harper (U. of Puerto Rico) Seacheol Min (U. of Idaho) Maria Rubino (Michigan St. U.) Student Representative: Cristian Samperio (VPI) Committee Chairs: Representative to the Technical Presentations Committee: Graduate Fellowship & Riester-Davis Award Poster Competition: Public Relations: Nominations: Division Web Site: Newsletter Editor: 2007-2009 2007-2009 2007-2009 2008-2010 2008-2010 2008-2010 2008-2010 Message from the Chair (continued) Bruce Welt, University of Florida Where would we like to go? Actually we don’t have to look farther than the FPD “About Us” web page (http://www.ift.org/divisions/food_pack/). Our objectives state that we wish to: • Promote communication and interaction among food packaging scientists in industry, government and academia. • Provide a nucleus within IFT for organizing short courses, symposia, and other programs for the dissemination of information pertaining to food packaging. • Ensure that food packaging is an integral and essential component of food science and technology curricula. • Provide a focal point for activities relating to food packaging within IFT and with other professional groups. • Stimulate research in areas relating to food packaging by sponsoring a Graduate Fellowship Award and a Graduate Poster Competition. As an FPD member and particularly as chair, I am drawn to the first bullet: “Promote interaction among packaging scientists in industry, government and academia”. It is in this first bullet that we have our greatest opportunity to improve FPD’s relevance to ourselves, IFT and others. Lately, much of FPD’s sole focus has been on satisfying bullets 2 and 5. I, and many of my FPD academic colleagues, work to cover bullet 3 by teaching Food Packaging in our university departments. I think bullet 4 goes well with bullet 1. Can we get there from here? Yes! Of course we can. The question is how? I’d love to get your ideas, but for now, here are some of mine: 1. Fun! FPD should schedule at least one (or many as possible) fun social gatherings each year. Of course, it makes sense to target the annual meeting since most people are there, but there are probably some other opportunities as well. 2. Better communications! There are so many ways to communicate today. I propose that FPD moderate a public discussion board to interact with each other and interested people around the world. This could greatly enhance awareness of FPD and IFT. 3. Better membership recruiting. Each year, we should remind ourselves to recruit more people into FPD and into FPD leadership roles. We should also remind ourselves that IFT has a membership referral program with recruiting tips and tools, rewards and a member referral form (http://www.ift.org/pdfs/MemberRefer2008app.pdf - be sure to fill in your information at the top of the form in the referral section). Each FPD member should be challenged to bring at least one new member to FPD/IFT each year. Consider that your challenge for this year. During these challenging times the Food Packaging Division of IFT has an opportunity to refocus itself on the one element that makes FPD valuable, its membership. By doing so, we will enhance FPD’s relevance to each other, IFT and everyone else. Looking forward to having some fun with you soon! Joe Marcy (VPI) Carol Harper (UPR) Yoonseok Song (FDA) Aaron Brody (P/BI) Bruce Welt (UF) Cristian Samperio (VPI) John Krochta (UCD) The Food Packaging Newsletter is published by the Food Packaging Division of the Institute of Food Technologists. Any correspondence or articles may be sent to: John M. Krochta Dept. of Food Science & Technology University of California Davis, CA 95616 jmkrochta@ucdavis.edu Food Packaging Newsletter 2 Riester-Davis Award Winner – John M. Krochta Presentation to Food Packaging Division Meeting New Orleans - June 30, 2008 How a Chemical Engineer Found Food Packaging John M. Krochta University of California, Davis My sincere thanks to the Food Packaging Division of the IFT for this year’s Riester-Davis Award. I am humbled and honored to be among the recipients of this very special award. Thank you, also, for the opportunity to share some of my career experiences with you. In mapping out a career, it is possible to consider it from different perspectives, e.g., the presence of a particular area of scholarship (e.g., mass transfer or polymer science), working on particular problems (e.g., reducing food losses), the impact of people on our decisions along the journey, or the different organizations or stages of our career. I decided to approach reflection on my career from an organization stage point of view. Purdue University. While working on my B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Purdue, I had friend who was taking Food Science courses and was interested in having a career in food processing. At first, this struck me as being highly odd. However, it planted a seed in my mind that would eventually germinate and grow into a very satisfying career. University of California, Berkeley. My graduate school experience at UCB was a time of increase in society’s consciousness concerning world hunger, the environment, war and personal responsibility (not unlike today). For my Ph.D. research, I was drawn to the problem of poor efficiency of plant protein utilization, due to low levels of certain essential amino acids. One approach being explored was synthesizing these amino acids and adding them to the plant protein to increase its quality. However, only one of the optical isomers that result from synthesis has biological activity and usefulness. The best approach is to separate the optical isomers and recycle the non-active isomer back into the synthesis process. This experience sensitized me to: a) the critical importance of molecular structure to properties and function of polymers and b) the importance of efficient use of resources. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Western Regional Research Center. At WRRC, I had the opportunity to develop my interests in a) more efficient use of resources, and b) sustainable production of those resources. My projects gave me the opportunity to gain understanding and appreciation for operations use in producing and preserving food. These projects resulted in several new concepts, including: • Mechanical harvesting of tomatoes into foam generated from food-grade sodium lauryl sulfate and pumped into harvest containers. The foam reduced tomato damage by cushioning their fall and then removed soil from the tomatoes as the foam collapsed and released cleansing water and surfactant. The result was less water consumption and less high-BOD effluent and soil at canneries from cleaning the tomatoes. • Mechanical harvesting of tomatoes onto inflatable pillows in harvest containers. The pillows cushioned the fall of tomatoes and then deflated in response to the accumulation of tomatoes, returning the whole harvest-container volume for tomatoes. • Low-water cleaning and peeling of tomatoes at canneries. Equipment incorporating sets of soft, spinning discs on numerous parallel shafts conveyed, de-stemmed, cleaned and then (after a dip in hot NaOH solution) peeled the tomatoes. This lowwater disc cleaning and peeling of tomatoes used much less water (which had provided the energy and medium for these operations), as well as producing a high concentration of peel waste that was more easily utilized for animal feed. • Low-energy steeping of corn and dehydration of starch in the corn wet milling process. The hot-water steeping time and energy were reduced by pre-cracking of the corn kernels, to allow more rapid uptake of water. Low-energy dehydration was accomplished by extraction of water from starch using ethanol. The ethanol could be recovered from the extract using the highly-energy-efficient multi-effect distillation. • Alkaline, thermochemical conversion of rice straw to organic acids that are useful for replacing fossil oil and gas in synthesis of a broad range of oxy-chemicals. University of California, Davis. My teaching and research at UC Davis have been greatly informed by my Chemical Engineering education and my experience with food harvesting and processing with the USDA-ARS-WRRC. In particular, my experiences with polymer science, source reduction and sustainability have had a large influence on my interest and research in the area of edible films. My edible film research has focused on use of whey protein separated from the by-product cheese whey, which had been formerly viewed as a waste. The research has included both basic and applied research. The basic research has involved exploration of the relationship of film composition and molecular structure to film properties and function. The applied research has emphasized matching the properties of the films to appropriate applications that result in reduction of conventional packaging or replacement of less environmentally-friendly coatings. Projects have included: (continued p. 4) Food Packaging Newsletter 3 Riester-Davis Award Presentation (continued) Protein Structure Effects on Film Properties. Whey protein consists of a number of proteins, all globular. Heat provides the energy necessary to partially open the globular proteins, break internal hydrophobic interactions and di-sulfide bonds, and provide the opportunity for the individual protein molecules to form intermolecular crosslinking bonds. Films made from heatdenatured whey protein are stronger, more stretchable, tougher and better oxygen barriers than films made from native whey protein. Plasticizer Effects on Film Properties. Whey protein films are too stiff and brittle without addition of a plasticizer to mediate hydrogen bonding among protein chains. But, usually the improvement in mechanical properties comes at cost of increased oxygen permeability. However, our research has shown that plasticizer composition, size and shape produce widely different relative effects on mechanical and barrier properties. Protein-Polysaccharide Blend Films. Another basic research focus has been to determine the effect of polysaccharide composition and structure on protein-polysaccharide blend films. For example we have found that whey proteinhydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) films have improved strength compared to whey protein films and improved flexibility and stretchability compared to whey protein films. Fortunately, the blend films maintain the superior oxygen barrier of whey protein films compared to HPMC films of similar mechanical properties. Oxygen-barrier coatings for nuts. Application research has included both pan coating and fluidized-bed coating of nuts with whey protein-based formulations. The result has been significant reductions in the rate of oxidative rancidity. Nuts with an oxygen-barrier coating provides a good example of how such a coating might provide opportunity for reducing the amount of conventional packaging required, e.g., by eliminating need for an oxygen-barrier layer in a flexible pouch. The results could be a) reduced packaging amount and cost, and b) increased packaging simplicity and thus improved package recyclability. Gloss coatings for confectionery products. Other application research has explored use of panning for forming whey protein films as coatings on confections. One target has been replacement of existing ethanol-based coatings that produce worker-safety and air pollution problems. We have found that whey protein coatings can match the gloss and have better oxygen barrier than ethanol-based coatings such as shellac. Integrity-enhancing coatings for fragile foods. Some freeze-dried foods (e.g., chicken-dice intended for dry soup mixes) disintegrate during handling and transportation, due to their fragile nature. Forming whey protein films as coatings on these foods significantly reduces their tendency to erode. Oil-barrier coatings for fried foods. Whey protein films are excellent oil barriers. Application research has shown that this can be translated into coatings for fried foods that reduce oil uptake by >30%. Antimicrobial incorporation in whey protein films. Our research has shown that antimicrobial compounds maintain activity in whey protein films and coatings. When antimicrobial compounds are applied directly on food surfaces, they quickly diffuse into the food interior, leaving the surface vulnerable to microbial contamination and growth. However, edible films and coatings can hold antimicrobial compounds at the food surface, maintaining protection over a much longer period of time. Antioxidant incorporation in whey protein films. Likewise, antioxidant compounds maintain activity when incorporated in whey protein films and coatings. Thus, they can complement the oxygen-barrier property to further protect foods, improve quality and extend shelf life. Extrusion of whey protein films. Finally, I want to include recent work, done with collaborators at the USDA, ARS, WRRC and UCD, on extrusion of whey protein films. All the work on whey protein films and coatings I described thus far involved formation of the films or coatings from aqueous solutions. However, our research has shown that, with the proper feed formulation and extruder conditions, films can be extruded and then formed into edible pouches. Conclusions. The main theme running through all my research at UC Berkeley, USDA-WRRC and UC Davis has been environmental stewardship, particularly reducing waste, increasing utilization efficiency of resources, and developing sustainable processes and products. These are activities that come natural to a Chemical Engineer and that have been, and will continue to be, of great importance to Food Packaging. Thus, it isn’t surprising that Chemical Engineers find the world of Food Packaging. Many mentors, colleagues and students have influenced my career. For all of them, I am very grateful. The Food Packaging Division has been a wonderful place for us to interact and grow. Nominations for 2009 Riester-Davis Award For information on the Riester-Davis Award, check the Food Packaging Division web site: http://www.ift.org/divisions/food_pack/awards.html To nominate a colleague for the 2009 Riester-Davis Award, contact the Committee Chair: Dr. Carol Harper (charper@uprm.edu) Food Packaging Newsletter 4 IFT Annual Meeting – Food Packaging Division •Graduate Student Poster Competition •Graduate Student Fellowship Award It is with great pleasure that we announce the winners of the 2008 IFT Food Packaging Division (FPD) Graduate Student Poster Competition and the Graduate Student Fellowship Award winner. On behalf of all FPD members, we would like to extend a hearty word of congratulations to the following winners. Graduate Student Poster Competition 1st Prize: John L. Koontz (Virginia Tech) 'Controlled release of natural antioxidants from polymer food packaging by molecular encapsulation with cyclodextrins' 2nd Prize: Theeranun Janjarasskul (University of California, Davis) 'Triggering mechanism(s) for ascorbic-acid-incorporated whey protein films' 3rd Prize: Seungran Yoo (Ohio State University) 'Effect of high pressure, temperature and food stimulants (10% and 95% alcohol) on the mass transfer of Irganox 1076 (an antioxidant) from polyethylene films' The five highest-rated abstracts were selected based on a review of 13 qualifying abstracts received for this year’s competition, and three winners were chosen from the five finalists during the FPD poster session. The competition’s panel of judges this year were Carol Harper, University of Puerto Rico; Sara Risch, MSU; Claire Sand, Ameripak, Inc.; and Yoonseok Song, FDA. Graduate Student Fellowship Award Siriyupa Netramai—Ph.D. candidate in the School of Packaging, Michigan State University, studying the utilization of chlorine dioxide in food packaging. • The Graduate Poster Competition and Graduate Fellowship Award both continue to be important Food Packaging Division activities. Our goals are to encourage student participation in IFT by providing opportunities for students to demonstrate some of the finest work being done at universities and to recognize them for the quality of their work. These award programs brings prestige to the FPD, as well as to the recipients honored. Information on 2009 Poster Competition and Fellowship Award Details about the graduate poster competition and graduate fellowship award are available through the IFT website under the Food Packaging Division. (http://www.ift.org/divisions/food_pack/) Graduate Poster Competition Chair Dr. Claire Koelsch Sand Michigan State University Adjunct Professor PTIS Associate/Ameripak 3220 Staloch Place Stillwater, MN 55082 claireksand@cks-ameripak.com Graduate Fellowship Award Chair Dr. Carol Harper, Professor University of Puerto Rico PO Box 9030 UPR/RUM Mayaguez, PR 00681-9030 charper@uprm.edu Food Packaging Newsletter 5 Food Packaging Division - Executive Committee Meeting – June 28, 2008 Eglington Winton Room - Hilton Riverside Hotel New Orleans, LA • The meeting was called to order by Barbara Blakistone at 4:00 pm. Present at the meeting: Rafael Auras, Barbara Blakistone, Carol Harper, John Krochta, Joe Marcy, Sea Min, Claire Sand, Yoonseok Song, Cristian Samperio (Student Representative), Gail Wiseman (IFT Liaison) • With the elimination of the Councilor and Alt. Councilor positions, there was a need to revise the FPD bylaws. Revision of the bylaws were discussed and approved by the Eecutive Committee. Barbara Blakistone was to provide a corrected copy of the bylaws to be voted on by FPD membership by August 31, 2008. • A slate of FPD officers was approved for an electronic ballot and election to be held by IFT. The proposed officers were: Chair: Bruce Welt Chair Elect: Yoonseok Song Secretary: Rafael Auras Members at large (class 08-09): Tara McHugh, Melvin Pascall, Guarav Tewari Members at large (class 09-10): Carol Harper, Sea Min, Maria Harper • Carol Harper announced the winner of the FPD graduate fellowship as Siriyupa Netramai from Michigan State University. • Other FPD committee assignments were decided by consensus. Riester-Davis Award Chair Carol Harper Student Representative Cristian Samperio (Virginia Tech) Poster Competition Chair Claire K. Sand SPS Representative Joe Marcy Program Committee Yoon Song (chair), Rafael Auras, Joe Marcy, Claire Sand Nominating Committee Bruce Welt (chair), Tara McHugh, Sea Min Membership Committee Melvin Pascall (chair), Leslie Cook, Guarav Tewari Newsletter Editor John Krochta Web Manager Cristian Samperio • Finance report indicated balance of all FPD funds to be $42,336, including Riester-Davis Award money. • The Executive Committee approved $500 to support an officer attending the IFT Leadership Conference and $500 for the Student Representative to attend the annual IFT meeting. • The meeting was adjourned at 5:26 pm Respectfully submitted, Joe Marcy Virginia Tech Food Packaging Newsletter 6 So, Who Won the FPD Elections? Barbara Blakistone IFT-Board of Directors - Advisor to FPD National Fisheries Institute Now and then one may hear from the not-so-reliable “grapevine” that Divisions will not be functioning units of IFT. Not so! The Office of the President, the Board of Directors (BOD), and the Staff see Divisions as “inviting places of residence” to the new member. That said, it’s a bit difficult to understand why only about 20% of us belong to Divisions. If you’re reading this newsletter, you either belong to the Food Packaging Division (FPD) or you’re interested in joining us. There’s room in IFT and the FPD for all levels of interest. If you voted in the FPD election (and even if you didn’t), you want to know who will lead us as the new governance year begins on September 1. Here are the results: CHAIR: Dr. Bruce Welt of the University of Florida CHAIR-ELECT: Dr. Yoon Song of the National Center for Food Safety and Technology SECRETARY: Dr. Rafael Auras of Michigan State University MEMBERS-AT-LARGE (just elected): Dr. Carol Harper of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Dr. Seacheol Min of the University of Idaho Dr. Maria Rubino of Michigan State University MEMBERS-AT-LARGE (continuing): Dr. Tara McHugh of USDA-ARS-WRRC Dr. Melvin Pascall of Ohio State University Dr. Guarav Tewari of Tewari De-Ox Systems Also, we have a Student Representative appointed by our Chair to be a liaison with the Student Association: Cristian Samperio of Virginia Tech. FPD Executive Committee (ExCom) meetings are open to all. At the Annual Meeting you will find our meeting venue listed in the Directory. The ExCom occasionally meets in teleconference, and if so, the information will be posted on the FPD web site. Participation with ExCom, whether elected or as an advisor, is a great way to get linked into FPD and IFT, not to mention networking with your peers and some of the best known names in packaging. It takes a lot of folks to do the work of the Division. Consider joining us! Student Representative Profile – Cristian Samperio Cristian Samperio originally from Guatemala City, Guatemala, obtained a degree in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA in 2007. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, he participated in a co-op program with Campbell’s Soup Company, where he was part of the research and development department at the company’s world headquarters in Camden, NJ. In addition, he worked as an intern for Alimentos Montesol, a fruit and vegetable processing operation, located in his home town of Guatemala City. Cristian has returned to Virginia Tech as a first year M.S. student working under Dr. Joe Marcy. His interest in food packaging arises from the pivotal role that it plays in the food industry and how active and dynamic it is in extending the shelf-life of food. Currently, his research involves the study of natural antimicrobial compounds as a pathway to reduce the use of synthetic antimicrobials in food and beverage products. He will be serving as student representative for the Food Packaging Division for 2008-2009. As part of his service to the FPD, he will maintain the division’s website and keep the listserv updated. Food Packaging Newsletter 7 Personal Message from an IFT Board of Directors Member Barbara Blakistone IFT-Board of Directors - Advisor to FPD National Fisheries Institute Because many of you added your signature to the petition and/or voted for me in the recent election, I owe you some observations of the governance structure. The latter has changed considerably since I became a member back in the late 70’s. I became an official Board of Directors (BOD) member September 1. Between election and September 1, we the newly elected have been invited to participate so we’ll be informed and ready to serve. I attended Orientation May 13-15, and I’d like to pass along my observations to date. My first concern is that as a member of IFT, I have felt rather disconnected from the “governors.” The BOD has a duty to keep everyone informed. I hope this year the BOD and Staff can work together more successfully to keep notes of teleconferences and meetings posted on the IFT website so all who wish to can read about our activities. http://members.ift.org/IFT/Communities/Committees/ If you follow this link and log into IFT, you can access posted minutes of the BOD conferences and read all sorts of supporting documents. This will help you stay up to date with national IFT. So what’s different from before? For me the biggest difference is that IFT no longer follows a structure of parliamentary government. That ended when IFT members voted Council out of existence. That puts a bigger burden on BOD members to communicate. We are a small body of 21, not the hundred or so that comprised Council plus those on the Executive Committee. Other opportunities to interact exist such as Town Hall Meetings (at the Annual Meeting and at Section Meetings) and the annual Strategic Leadership Forum. (Note that the Forum is more of a leadership training opportunity than a forum for member review of IFT, but that is offered.) IFT committees are being “overhauled,” so to speak. The old committee structure does not fit the new philosophy of governance. The process of retooling goes on now. External studies show that members of associations prefer to commit to a defined timeline, do the task assigned, submit a report to the governing board, and move on. People like me who’ve been members of IFT for a long time find this approach, well. . . shocking. We are used to being quite active and involved in the ongoing details of IFT. I asked for your vote because I can serve as a transitional person between former ways and the current thinking. I hope to find ways to distill ideas from all members. Got something on your mind about IFT? Call me at 703-7528887 or email me at bblakistone@nfi.org. Food Packaging Newsletter 8 FPD - Package Sustainability Symposium IFT Annual Meeting – New Orleans, LA June 30, 2008 Claire K. Sand Michigan State University Adjunct Professor PTIS Associate/Ameripak This year's symposium meshed well with IFT's overall sustainability theme and was well attended by packaging and food science professionals. With the effects of the global energy crisis spreading, sustainability is increasingly top of mind. The concept of sustainability is inherently complex. The food industry needs packaging to preserve, transport and market products. And, without packaging, food in commerce would not be possible. In the purest context, sustainable initiatives enable the food packaging industry to use resources wisely. And, the potential to create more sustainable packaging is exciting. This session explored the use of metrics to assess more sustainable packaging solutions. Specifically, the reasoning and use of the metrics, metric tools, and research and development needs in the area of sustainability metrics were addressed. Matthew Realff, Georgia Tech, shared with the group insights from his Life Cycle Analyses/Inventory and stressed the need for data to be transparent. In assessing the myriad of materials and food packaging design options, Dr Realff shared that data is wonderful to have and use if it is believable. Derrick Jordan, Clemson, highlighted aspects of the now released metric called Comparative Packaging Assessment (COMPASS) systems from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC). This tool enables packaging decision makers to compare environmental metrics of designs and materials and is a replacement for the initial MERGE tool that was developed with the EPA in the mid 1990s. Claire Sand, PTIS/MSU, presented the critical research on sustainability that needs to be done to achieve more sustainable packaging. This included research on attaining rapid, transparent, accurate and detailed information, and research on how, as a common area of interest, sustainability can foster communication throughout the packaging value chain. __________________________________________________________________________ The opinions expressed in this newsletter are the opinions of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position of IFT or of the Food Packaging Division, and they should not be interpreted as such. IFT accepts and adopts the concept of diversity which views society as a mixture of all backgrounds, each with a unique contribution. IFT seeks to retain and celebrate individual differences and, therefore, will not discriminate based on race, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Please send questions, comments and newsletter contributions to: John M. Krochta Dept. of Food Science & Technology One Shields Ave. University of California Davis, CA 95616 jmkrochta@ucdavis.edu Want to learn more about the Food Packaging Division and IFT Divisions in general? Check out: http://www.ift.org/divisions/food_pack/ http://members.ift.org/IFT/Communities/Volunteer%20Leaders/divisiontools.htm Food Packaging Newsletter 9