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General Mills Representative Honored at NCFST Industry Dinner

     Chicago Feb. 14, 2005

Jonathan W. DeVries, PhD., Senior Principal Scientist with General Mills and Technical Manager of Medallion Laboratories has been awarded the inaugural Annual National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) award for his contribution to food safety across government, industry and academia.  The award was presented at NCFST’s industry networking dinner at The Signature Room of the John Hancock Tower in Chicago , Ill. on Feb. 8, 2005.  The invitation-only dinner was attended by members and prospective members of NCFST with representatives from Campbell Soup, Hormel, Unilever, Silliker, PepsiCo, Kraft, Ecolab, Sara Lee, 3M, General Mills, Praxair, American Air Liquide, and others. 

     “The NCFST’s goal is to generate a cross-cutting effort to improve the safety and nutrition of food products by involving its stakeholders: FDA/CFSAN, academic researchers, industry and others,” said Martin Cole, Ph.D., Director of NCFST in his opening statement.  “If successful, this effort will not only allow enough food safety issues to be managed effectively but also help facilitate innovation in the food industry by designing safety into new products and processes.”

     Darsh Wasan, Ph.D., founder of NCFST, Motorola Chair, Professor and Vice President for International Affairs, Illinois Institute of Technology, recognized DeVries on behalf of the Center for outstanding contributions to food safety across government, academia and industry.  "Jon Devries embodies the true spirit of cooperation between industry, academia and the federal government that is the NCFST", says Darsh Wasan.

     General Mills joined NCFST as an Affiliate Member shortly after the Center began its operations.  DeVries is currently the chair of the Center’s Technical Advisory Committee.  He first became involved with NCFST in 1991 as a collaborator on numerous consortium projects.

     “I find that NCFST exemplifies a means by which a consortium of government, academia, and industry can work together on a common goal of providing safety, security, and comfort for humankind.  I think it is working well,” said DeVries.

     “NCFST is the only facility of its kind for which FDA has unrestricted access to conduct the regulatory and prevention research it needs,” said Robert Brackett, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration.

     The National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) is a research consortium of industry, government, and academia, which addresses the food safety implications of emerging technologies in food processing and packaging. The National Center serves as a neutral ground for food safety research, education, and information exchange among food industry, government, and academic scientists. NCFST is located at Illinois Institute of Technology's Moffett Campus (near Chicago ) in Summit-Argo , Illinois .

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