For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeannette Roeder
(202) 220-3562
(Washington, D.C. - September 8, 2009) The International Dairy Foods Association is pleased to announce its 2010 meetings and conferences calendar.
Worldwide Food Expo 2009
October 28-31
McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill.
Worldwide Food Expo is the premiere food and beverage processing and packaging event in North America, featuring the world's leading suppliers. Attendees from across the U.S. and 100 countries visit the show to learn about new technologies, trends and ideas. Worldwide Food Expo offers a comprehensive educational program with plant operations workshops, global trend general sessions and technical briefings, in addition to the Sustainability and Seasoning, Flavorings and Ingredients Pavilions.
Four pre-Expo workshops will also be offered: Dairy Industry Orientation, Advanced HACCP Certification Workshop, Safe Quality Food Certification Workshop and Better Process Cheese School. The event will also feature a luncheon, "Web 2.0 - Transform Your Marketing, Empower Your Brand," aimed at marketing professionals. Worldwide Food Expo features two co-located events: the IDFA Food, Dairy & Beverage Exposition and the AMI International Meat, Poultry & Seafood Convention and Exposition.
Dairy Forum 2010
January 17-20
Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz.
IDFA's premier meeting brings together leaders from all sectors of the dairy industry - producers, processors, cooperative leaders and suppliers - to discuss the latest market, regulatory and industry trends. Program highlights will include the presentation of several industry awards, such as the National Cheese Institute Laureate Award, the IDFA Soaring Eagle Award and the Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year Award. Dairy Forum 2010 features the annual golf tournament and a range of activities for families.
International Sweetener Colloquium
February 21-24
Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Fla.
This annual event provides a unique opportunity for producers and users of sweeteners to discuss the most pressing issues facing the global sweetener industry. This year's sessions will cover domestic and international markets, the carbon footprint in the sweetener sector, corn sweeteners and other timely topics presented by a variety of experts.
Ice Cream Technology Conference
March 10-11
Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, St. Petersburg, Fla.
The premier event for frozen dessert professionals, this conference is the only meeting that focuses specifically on frozen dessert research, technology, new market trends and opportunities. The conference encourages an open exchange among participants and experts on the technical and practical processing issues pertaining to the frozen dessert industry, such as production and ingredient technologies, product safety and labeling. It also features networking opportunities and product tasting, including the annual Innovative Ice Cream Flavor Competition.
IDFA's Milk Procurement Workshop
March 16-17
Hyatt Regency Rosemont, Rosemont, Ill.
This workshop is a must for anyone who needs to learn dairy market basics. Marketing, sales, production and accounting personnel all will benefit from learning the fundamentals of the Federal Milk Marketing Order system and raw milk pricing and procurement.
Sustainability Workshop
April 14-15
InterContinental Hotel Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
IDFA's Sustainability Workshop is designed to help members meet the challenges of monitoring and reducing energy, water and chemicals used throughout each product's lifecycle. This two-day workshop will begin by focusing on what sustainability means to the dairy industry, fluid milk's carbon footprint, possible new innovations and practices, and current retailer initiatives. The second day will show attendees how to measure their use of resources and to discover new or emerging sustainability technologies that might work for them. The workshop will include highlights of successful case studies and conclude with a review of initiatives currently underway in other food industries.
Dairy Cost Accounting Workshop
May 11-12
Hyatt Regency Rosemont, Rosemont, Ill.
This industry-specific workshop provides dairy company controller and accounting personnel with important information on production benchmarks, as well as hands-on training in product and product-line component costing and route distribution analysis.
Milk & Cultured Dairy Products Symposium
May 24-26
Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rosemont, Ill.
IDFA has combined two of its more popular training sessions - the Cultured Dairy Products Conference and the Milk Technology Conference - into one premier symposium. This symposium will explore cutting-edge innovations in the use of ingredients, processing technology and analytical methods, as well as packaging and product development for milk and dairy beverages and for cultured products, such as yogurt, sour creams, buttermilk and cottage cheese.
The program will provide in-depth technical sessions on cultured dairy product formulation, culture selection, market and flavor trends, and innovation. The symposium will also focus on sustainability, dairy nutrition research, labeling, marketing, changes in regulations affecting the Grade A program and new FDA food safety regulations. Attendees will judge the Most Innovative Cultured Dairy Product Competition and the Most Innovative Milk or Dairy Beverage Competition.
Washington Conference
June 16-17
The Madison, Washington, D.C.
This annual event provides attendees with valuable dairy policy briefings, as well as opportunities to discuss industry priorities with policymakers in Washington. The agenda will include a review of pending legislation, grassroots techniques and invaluable networking opportunities with key members of Congress. The program also will include IDFA's 28th Annual Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party.
Call for Papers
IDFA has issued a call for papers to gather topic ideas and identify speakers for three of these events: the Ice Cream Technology Conference, the Sustainability Workshop and the Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Symposium.
"Our goal is to provide the latest information, trends and research through interesting and engaging presentations," said Diana Carmenates, IDFA senior director of meetings and educational services. "By issuing a call for papers, we expect to broaden the field of topics and address issues most important to attendees."
The call for papers will end December 4, 2009. IDFA will select topics and notify chosen presenters by January 29, 2010. For more information, visit the Events and Tradeshow section at www.idfa.org.
Sponsorships Also Available
"Sponsorships are a great way to showcase products and services to industry professionals during IDFA meetings," said Carmenates. "Event sponsorship can be especially effective because you can reach a wide range of audiences, such as executives and other decision makers in the dairy industry."
For information on sponsorships, visit www.idfa.org.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $110-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.