International Dairy Foods Association

Overview

The Ice Cream Technology Conference is the premier event for ice cream and frozen dessert professionals and is the only meeting that focuses specifically on innovations in frozen dessert research, technology and new market trends. It provides unique opportunities to learn from experts on food safety, labeling and regulations that affect the industry. Ice Cream Tech is the place to learn and share, and to engage in an open exchange among participants and experts on technical and practical processing issues in the ice cream and frozen dessert industry.

In light of on-going developments with COVID-19 and after thoughtful consideration, IDFA has decided to move the 2021 Ice Cream Technology and Yogurt & Cultured Innovation conferences to a fully online, virtual experience. We believe this is the safest approach for the well-being of our audience and we are excited that a virtual event makes it possible to broaden the learning opportunities and engagement with the industry at this time.

Who Should Attend?

All professionals in ice cream and frozen dessert technology — including plant managers, regulatory compliance personnel, research and development professionals, and quality assurance staff — will gain new insights, ideas and solutions by attending the conference. Suppliers to the ice cream industry are also encouraged to attend.

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Title Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Agenda

Print Agenda

April 6, 2021	Event	Speaker	Location
1:00pm - 1:45pm	Staying Relevant Without Succumbing to a Fad: The Past 20 Years in Review
	So much has changed in the food world in the past 20 years, and the ice cream, yogurt and cultured dairy industries have evolved to stay relevant to consumers. There have been some great success stories, as well as some short-lived concepts. This presentation will explore the trends, the fads, the approaches and the achievements of the past two decades to provide insight as you plan your future innovations. We’ll look at 20 product concepts and identify what gave the trends their fuel and how you can continue to evolve to stay relevant to disruptive and demanding consumers, including the emerging generation Z. Speaker: Donna Berry, Food Scientist, Editor and Consultant, Daily Dose of Dairy
1:45pm - 2:30pm	Back to Basics: Formulations for Optimal Quality Ice Cream with Novel Ingredients
	There is a growing body of research focused on understanding the main structural elements in ice cream—fat, air and ice—and the unfrozen phase where they are formed and interact. This session will review the structural elements and how they can be controlled through ingredients and processes to optimize for product performance attributes such as dryness, shaping and shape retention, meltdown, texture and shelf life. The session will also discuss the impact of reduced sugar formulation modifications on structure and anticipated product performance. Speaker: Doug Goff, Ph.D., Professor, University of Guelph, Canada
2:30pm - 3:00pm	Networking Break
3:00pm - 3:45pm	Balancing Taste and Health In Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts
	Consumer interest has trended towards permissible indulgent treats that are lower in calories and sugar in addition to enriched with fiber and protein. Where manufacturers can find sweet success is balancing the need for healthier products with delicious, rich, and creamy taste. When replacing sugar, the greatest challenge often lies in delivering the same satisfying eating experience. Removing sugar can affect mouthfeel, bulk, texture and more. By using proper functional ingredients, you can unlock combinatorial benefits to maintain sweetness, improve texture and deliver an improved nutritional profile. With formulation recommendations and examples, we will demonstrate how a comprehensive approach to balancing taste and health in ice cream and frozen desserts is possible. Speaker: Nicole Redini, Category Strategy Manager – Dairy & Nutrition, Food & Beverage Solutions, Tate & Lyle Mark Robert, Director, Food & Beverage Solutions, Tate & Lyle Ingredients
3:45pm - 4:30pm	Spotlight Sustainable & Ethical Sourcing
	The sustainable and ethical sourcing of ingredients is becoming mainstream in the food industry in response to consumer demand making it a critical consideration for product development. This session will share insights from two companies leading efforts in sustainability and ethical sourcing for cocoa and sugar that are widely used in ice cream. Hear about Barry Callebaut’s external research and solutions they bring for cocoa farmers including information on its Forever Chocolate initiative to make sustainable chocolate the norm. Sugaright will share work with growers, millers, refiners and end-users including certification schemes such as Bonsucro and Fairtrade that provide sustainability frameworks and a platform for industry collaboration and traceability and work at the local level with higher color liquid sugar options which reduced energy and water use. This talk will help your company to identify sustainability and ethical sourcing goals and steps to meet them. Speakers: Brooke Smith, Sustainability Business Development Manager, Americas, Barry Callebaut Diane Stevenson, Director of Sustainability and Marketing, CSC Sugar
April 7, 2021	Event	Speaker	Location
1:00pm - 1:45pm	Novel Frozen Desserts Require New Considerations for Controlling Defects
	Historically, the apparent loss of product volume in frozen desserts—shrinkage defect—was typically attributed to common mix components, changes in elevation/atmospheric pressure and sublimation due to storage conditions. Learn how increased interest in novel frozen dessert formulations containing high protein and/or non-dairy protein sources has led to a resurgence of this defect that may not result from traditional shrinkage mechanisms—and how to prevent it. Speaker: Scott A. Rankin, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1:45pm - 2:30pm	Modern Methods For Incorporating Inclusions In Frozen Desserts
	Ice Cream inclusions like toppings, coatings, and layers give textural contrast and present opportunities for product differentiation, co-branding and indulgence. Meanwhile, consumer demands for complex flavors, larger sizes and a higher percentage of inclusions result in challenges for manufacturers. This presentation will look at how types and flavors of ice cream and inclusions have developed over time, and discuss how to set solutions and flavorings in packaged ice cream and novelties to meet consumer demands. Speaker: Kurt Kristensen, Business Proposition Manager, Tetra Pak Ice Cream Solutions
2:30pm - 3:00pm	Networking Break
3:00pm - 3:45pm	Benefits Of Microcrystalline Cellulose In Challenging Ice Cream Formulations
	Consumer demand for foods that are low calorie, high protein, low carbohydrate, and clean labeled has sparked the introduction of many non-conventional types of ice cream in the marketplace. Some introductions are not able to maintain the quality they had at the time of production due to air cell instability and volume loss shrinkage. This session will showcase how formulation with highly functional MCC based stabilization systems can reduce or eliminate these defects while maintaining smooth and creamy ice cream structure. Speaker: Aaron Venables, Principal Scientist, IFF
3:45pm - 4:30pm	Get The Scoop! Ice Cream Consumer And Market Flavor Trends
	What are the market trends for exiting new ice cream flavors to wow your consumers? We’ll look at unique ingredients, nutritional enhancement, and flavoring and explore plant-based consumer insight and product innovation. You will have an opportunity to taste Kerry’s on-trend concepts. Speakers: Logan Cisewski, RD&A Scientist, Kerry Samantha Gonfiantini, Marketing Specialist, Kerry
April 8, 2021	Event	Speaker	Location
1:00pm - 1:45pm	FDA Update
1:45pm - 2:30pm	The Evolution of Industry 4.0 and Its Impact On Your Plant
	The flow of data coming out of dairy plants has never been greater than it is now, nor is it likely to decrease in the future. Today’s business leaders see and understand the value of data and are using this information in ways not possible before: making real-time, informed decisions, which are positively impacting everything from supply and demand and logistics, to research and development and even “just in time” maintenance. This wealth of data, made possible by technologies that are being hailed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or “Industry 4.0,” is here to stay and will forever change the way plants are managed. In this session, we will briefly explore the DNA of Industry 4.0, its potential for our enterprises, as well as explore some of the pitfalls that may lie ahead. Speaker: C. Mitch Vanover, P.E., Automation Manager, Hixson
2:30pm - 3:00pm	Networking Break
3:00pm - 3:45pm	Cellular-Derived Proteins – Making Whey and Milk Without the Curds and Cows
	Cellular agriculture companies around the world are developing dairy ingredients, eggs, gelatin and even meat and seafood without the animal. This revolutionary technology has garnered significant investments from leading food stakeholders on a global basis, and presents fascinating regulatory questions. Today's session will highlight recently commercialized, high profile products of cellular agriculture. We'll consider hot button issues such as labeling at both the federal and state levels, how FDA is approaching safety oversight, and what we can expect going forward. We'll highlight key issues that the ice cream, yogurt and the broader food industry should consider when looking at using these novel ingredients in dairy foods or manufacturing and marketing finished dairy analogue products entirely produced without the animal. Speaker: Brian Sylvester, Special Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP
3:45pm - 4:30pm	Food Microbiology Testing: What's Next?
	With rapid technology transformation and the ever-shortening innovation cycle, the age of “linear” (single test method for a single analyte) is morphing into the age of a “dynamic” testing. This trend is driving a greater focus on data analysis and the borrowing of ideas from the successes of the Silicon Valley. Data based modeling will not only allow dairy industry customers to see what’s happening now, but also predict the events of the future. This presentation will highlight how this transition is taking place in the food industry, and what dairy companies can do to prepare for it. Speaker: Vikrant Dutta, PhD, Senior Staff Scientist, bioMerieux Inc.