Overview

IDFA has combined two of its more popular training sessions-the Cultured Dairy Products Conference and the Milk Technology Conference-into one premier symposium. It will explore cutting-edge innovations in the use of ingredients, processing technology, analytical methods, packaging and new products for cultured products (yogurt, sour creams, buttermilk, cottage cheese, etc.), milk and dairy beverages.

• Day One will provide in-depth technical sessions on cultured dairy product formulation, culture selection, market and flavor trends and innovation.
• Day Two will focus on sustainability, dairy nutrition research, labeling, marketing, changes in regulations affecting the Grade A program and new FDA food safety regulations.
• Day Three will concentrate on innovations for milk and dairy beverages, with technical sessions on the use of dairy components, formulations, additives, inhibitors, new processing equipment and packaging technology, all related to product development.

BACK TO TOP

Agenda

Day One — Tuesday, March 31, 2009

8:15 - 8:30 a.m.    Welcome

Speaker:
Cary Frye, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, International Dairy Foods Association

8:30 - 9:15 a.m.    Rapid Methods to Quantify Yogurt Cultures ?The health benefits of yogurt are predicated on the product delivering sufficient levels of live and active cultures. However, current laboratory cultural enumeration methods are costly and time consuming. This session will highlight the latest research from Penn State University on the development of a rapid technique to quantify S. thermophilus, L.bulgaricus and B. animalis ssp. lactis in yogurt using quantitative rapid methods Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Speaker:
Robert Roberts, Ph.D., Professor, Penn State University

9:15 - 10:00 a.m.    What's New for Yogurt??With yogurt consumption continuing to increase in 2008, manufacturers are looking for new and novel ways to differentiate their products in the market. This session will review some recent ingredient developments for this time-honored dairy product.

Speakers:
Sonia Huppert, Culture Applications Team Manager, Danisco USA Inc.??Jennifer Lindsey, Global Dairy Beverage Industry Manager, Danisco USA Inc.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m.    Break

10:30 - 11:15 a.m.    Novel Application of Mesophilic Cultures?The popularity of traditional products made with mesophilic cultures, such as sour cream, buttermilk and cottage cheese, is stagnating. But a wide range of fermented drinks and fresh cheeses made with mesophilic cultures are growing in popularity around the world. These lowfat products have a refreshing taste, slight effervescence and mild creamy flavor, and are an excellent base for probiotics and other functional ingredients. This session will unveil new research on the application of mesophilic cultures and provide a wide range of profiles to personalize texture, flavor intensity and level of CO2, which offer possibilities to make healthy, all-natural products that may appeal to consumers as much as yogurt.

Speaker:
Mirjana Curic-Bawden, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Dairy Technology Center, Chr. Hansen Inc.

11:15 a.m. - Noon    Uncovering Milk's Bioactive Component Properties ?Researchers at the University of California—Davis are using new analytical tools to deconstruct the components of mammalian milk to determine which components make milk the perfect food for infants. In addition to nourishment, milk contains components that are antibiotic, antiviral and anti-cancer. Attendees will hear new UC Davis research findings that provide methods to examine milk and discover new bioactive components.

Speaker:
Carlito B. Lebrilla, Ph.D., Professor, University of California-Davis.

Noon - 1:15 p.m.    Group Luncheon

1:15 - 2:00 p.m.    Going Greek: Developing Cultured Dairy Products From Around the World ?The popularity of Greek-style yogurt and other cultured dairy products from around the globe, such as Labneh, Yemar, Yletter, Strangisto and Dhani, is growing. This session will highlight the unique characteristics of cultured products from different regions of the world and explore product development, processing application, culture selection and composition to produce authentic products.

Speaker:
Representative, Cargill Texturizing Solutions (Invited)

2:00 - 2:45 p.m.    Control of Yogurt Characteristics by Understanding Fermentation Interactions ?Yogurt's popularity can be explained by both flavor and health benefits. This session will explore the latest developments in the interactions of two lactic acid bacteria, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus, along with probiotic cultures used in co-fermentation. The latest developments in global analysis of gene expression high-throughput screening, modeling and evolution will be used to demonstrate the basis of culture interactions that can be applied to industrial fermentation.

Speaker:
Jeroen A. Wouters, Ph.D., Division Manager, Flavor Business Manager USA & Canada, NIZO food research B.V.

2:45 - 3:15 p.m.    Break

3:15 - 4:00 p.m.
Stevia, the Zero-Calorie Sweetener ?Learn about the newest sugar substitute, which is derived from the leaves of the Latin American herb stevia. It can contain a substance hundreds of times more potent than sugar. Currently marketed to consumers, this sweetener has GRAS designation and is now available as a food ingredient. This session will discuss applications for its use in dairy products.

Speaker:
Bryan Shiplett, Consultant, Cargill Health & Nutrition

4:00 - 4:45 p.m.    State-of-the-Industry Report ?Be among the first to hear the new 2008 sales and consumption data from IDFA's Cultured Products Market Research Project. Combined with recent cultured dairy production and trade trends, the report examines how the industry is adapting to changes in consumer demands for these products.

Speaker:
Bob Yonkers, Ph.D., Vice President & Chief Economist, International Dairy Foods Association

Day Two — Wednesday, April 1, 2009

8:00 - 8:45 a.m.    What Packaging Will Consumer Pay More For??In spite of tightening budgets, consumers still have preferences regarding the attributes they want in packaging, and some are willing to pay more for them. This Consumer Insights guru will share with you the pulse of the consumer within different demographic groups, so attendees will learn the economic and marketing implications of providing more consumer-friendly packaging.

Speaker:
Mona Doyle, CEO, The Consumer Network, Inc.

8:45 - 9:15 a.m.    Economic Outlook for the Dairy Industry ?No one can predict the future, but the industry can explore the major forces that are driving the economy, their impact on the domestic dairy industry and global dairy trade. The session will look at trends in farm milk production, dairy product processing, major input costs and consumption in the United States and around the world.

Speaker:
Bob Yonkers, Ph.D., Vice President & Chief Economist, International Dairy Foods Association

9:15 - 9:45 a.m.     Break

9:45 - 10:15 a.m.    Understanding the Product Value Chain to Maximize Profitability ?A value chain is a chain of activities. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order, and at each activity the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of added values of all activities. This session will provide examples of value chain analysis for dairy products to help attendees understand the impact of this important tool on reducing costs to maximize profitability.

Speaker:
Philippe Lorge, Ph.D., CEO & Chief Scientific Officer, Bienca Enzymes

10:15 - 11:00 a.m.    How Will Spotlight on Food Safety Affect Dairy? ?Melamine in Chinese infant formula. Questions over the safety of spinach, tomatoes and peppers. Food recalls based on contaminants and allergens. These issues and more have lowered consumer confidence in the ability of local, state and federal food safety regulatory agencies to provide adequate oversight for the U.S. food supply. And with President Obama’s overwhelming win on a campaign message of “change,” the food industry likely will see major shifts in the way food safety is handled in the future. This session will discuss possible federal legislative and regulatory changes to come that will have a direct impact on the dairy industry.

Speaker:
Allen Sayler, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & International Standards, International Dairy Foods Association

11:00 a.m. - Noon    How to Survive an FDA Inspection – Rights & Wrongs ?Last summer, Congress provided $150 million in a special appropriation to the Food and Drug Administration, which allowed the agency to hire up to 1,000 new staffers, and many were assigned to domestic food-processing inspections. Because of mounting criticism and to justify to Congress the use of these funds, FDA will increase the frequency and intensity of food-processing plant inspections. Is your dairy plant ready for the “knock on the door,” and is plant management trained to know their obligations when an FDA inspector makes demands for operational records and access to plant computer systems? This session is a “must attend” for dairy plant management. Attendees will hear from a national expert on FDA food safety laws and regulations about dairy plant rights and protection techniques during an FDA inspection.

Speaker:
Martin Hahn, Partner, Hogan & Hartson

Noon - 1:00 p.m.    Group Luncheon

1:00 - 1:45 p.m.    Labeling Regulations & Trends ?This session will provide an overview of dairy product label trends that marketers are using to sell products. It will include discussions on front-of-package nutrition symbols, nutrition and wellness claims that companies use to help consumers identify better-for-you products. The session also will explore the status of all-natural, organic and no-hormone-added labeling and the emergence of sustainability symbols. New regulations being considered by FDA for sodium, front-of-package labeling and functional foods will be covered as well.

Speaker:
Cary Frye, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, International Dairy Foods Association

1:45 - 2:30 p.m.    2009 Innovative Products Competition ?Attendees will help judge the conference's Most Innovative Milk or Dairy Beverage Competition and the Cultured Dairy Product Competition. Taste the latest new products and vote for your favorite. Attendees are invited to send one entry per company for each contest. Awards will be given for the most innovative milk or dairy beverage (non-cultured) and for the most innovative cultured dairy product (yogurt, cultured milk, cottage cheese, dip, etc.). More information will be provided to registered attendees.??To submit an entry, please fax the contest entry form to Lauren Ledermann at 202-331-7820. After we receive your entry form, we will contact you with shipment information.

2:30 - 3:45 p.m.     Tracing Products from Moo to You: Lessons Learned and Case Studies ?Tremendous damage was done to the U.S. spinach industry and, more recently, to the Florida tomato industry because the contaminated products couldn’t be traced quickly and simply back to their sources. As a result, regulators and consumers didn’t know which spinach and tomatoes were safe. Does the dairy industry have the same vulnerability? Learn about the fresh produce industry’s new product-tracing system and takeaways that could be applied in the dairy industry. Also hear from a food industry leader on company and supplier-based product-tracing systems that could be implemented by your company and dairy plants.

Speakers:
Dave Gombas, Vice President, Technical Services, International Fresh Cut Produce Association??Gale Prince, Consultant, Retired from Kroger Co.

4:00 - 6:00 p.m.     Reception & Exhibition?

Exhibit your products and services during our reception. To learn more contact Lauren Ledermann, IDFA meetings coordinator, at 202-220-3532 or lledermann@idfa.org.

Day Three — Thursday, April 2, 2009

8:00 - 8:15 a.m.    Introduction & Welcome

8:15 - 9:00 a.m.    Non-Thermal Pasteurization Technology: Is It Ready for Dairy Beverage Processing? ?Energy costs, flavor degradation, protein denaturing and equipment costs all create challenges in the use of thermal-based pasteurization technology, which is used to render raw milk safe for human consumption. Non-thermal or reduced-thermal technologies, such as cold filtration, UV light, electo-pulse, high pressure, microwave and radio frequency heating, and ohmic heating, have been discussed for years. Attendees will hear updates on these technologies and their practical application for milk beverages.

Speaker:
Gail Barnes, Vice President, Industry Innovation Consulting, Dairy Management Inc.

9:00 - 9:45 a.m.    Innovations in Flavor Technology ?The type of flavorings used for dairy beverages has changed significantly from the predominant use of natural plant-derived flavors to the use of artificial duplicators. Today we are seeing new flavoring technologies that could provide significant benefits to dairy beverages in the areas of processing flexibility, cost and consumer preferences. Leading U.S. flavor houses will share their new flavor innovations that address improved texture, flavor heat stability, micro-encapsulation and synergies of flavor combinations.

Speaker:
Skip Rosskam, President & COO, David Michael & Company

9:45 - 10:15 a.m.     Break

10:15 - 10:45 a.m.    Identifying the Root Cause of Off-Flavors in Milk: Sensory Evaluation & Defining the “Flavor” of Milk?Milk beverages with longer shelf life can create an off-flavor challenge, with consumers complaining about bitter, barny, sour, ammonia and other objectionable tastes. Trained industry personnel can usually confirm such consumer complaints, but identifying and correcting the root cause of such flavors is not always obvious or easy. They can be caused by one problem, such as improper handling and quality of raw milk, dry ingredient quality, processing equipment design and cleaning problems or formulation mistakes, or a combination of these problems. Hear from an industry expert on how to correct off-flavors after they occur and how to prevent future occurrences.

Speaker:
Henry Randolph Ph.D., President, Randolph Associates, Inc.

10:45 - Noon        Modeling Your Plant's Carbon Footprint: A Fluid Milk Case Study ?The cost of energy, concerns about global warming and customer focus on sustainability all have driven efforts by dairy companies to define and quantify their carbon footprint. Many approaches and systems are being recommended, but they may not all work or apply to the dairy processing industry. Hear from some of the leading U.S. dairy companies on how they developed their own approaches, built programs to gather the necessary data on energy usage and converted that information into a carbon footprint for their dairy plants. With this knowledge, dairy companies will become prepared to utilize the carbon credit market to their benefit.

Speakers:
Dale Bunton, Vice President, Energy Management - Dean Foods Centers of Excellence, Dean Foods Company??David Lattan, Vice President, Engineering, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.

Noon - 1:00 p.m.    Group Luncheon

1:00 - 2:15 p.m.    Formulating Dairy Beverages and Utilizing Innovative Ingredients?Dairy beverages have moved far beyond the addition of milk powder and flavorings to provide some variety to consumers. Today dairy beverages are targeting consumer micro-markets characterized by interest in specific nutritional benefits, such as antioxidants, pre-biotics, indigestible elements and influences on flavor. Learn what traditional and non-traditional dairy companies are doing to mix and match innovative ingredients to boost consumer appeal for the traditional dairy beverage sector.

Speakers:
Luis Hernandez, Application Scientist, Beverages, Fonterra??Steve Young, Ph.D., Principal, Steven Young Worldwide

2:15 - 3:00 p.m.    Innovations in Dairy Beverage Packaging ?If your company believes, “There is nothing new in packaging,” you will likely be giving market share to competitors in 2009 and beyond, even if your product is superior. Sustainable, multi-functional packaging is driving customer and consumer demand for less packaging material, with a new look at biodegradable and recyclable packaging. Also, new shapes, sizes, labeling materials and closures will be driving the industry to distinguish dairy beverages from other beverages. Get the latest information from around the world on potential break-through packaging technology and packaging products that could give your company a huge competitive advantage.

Speaker:
Patrick Reynolds, Vice President & Editor of Packaging World

3:00 - 3:30 p.m.    Break

3:30 - 4:00 p.m.    Emerging Research on Flavored Milk's Role in Sports Recovery?Milk has been a staple for the human race for thousands of years. Its nutritional benefits related to building bones are well known, and other health and wellness benefits are widely accepted. Now new research is demonstrating that flavored milks have additional measurable benefits in a body’s recovery and rebuilding after physical activity, whether you are a professional athlete, have a regular workout at a nearby gym or are just an individual with a busy and physically difficult lifestyle. The session will present the latest research, as well as insights into how to build the information into a successful marketing campaign to expand your products’ consumer base.
Speaker:   
Matt Pikosky, Director of Research Transfer, Dairy Management Inc.

4:00 - 4:45 p.m.    Enhanced Profits and Process Control through Automated Control Systems ?How much processing automation technology is too much? How can this be benchmarked, and how does my plant shape up against my competitor’s dairy plants? Learn how technologies, such as automation and process control technology, such as batch management, finite capacity scheduling, wireless equipment control systems and optimizing production with existing equipment, can be integrated into dairy plants to drive improved process control, reduce processing costs and increase plant profitability.

Speaker:
Charlie Rastle, Consumer Products Group Marketing Manager, Rockwell Automation

4:45 p.m.     Adjourn

BACK TO TOP