The International Academy of Food Science & Technology: 2008 Election of new Fellows

The International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST) is a group of elected distinguished food scientists and technologists (Fellows) who collectively form a pool of scientific expertise in food science and technology from which IUFoST may draw non-aligned expert advice on scientific matters. Its letterhead carries the proud designation “The Global Focus of Food Science Excellence”. Elected Fellows represent no organisation or country but serve as independent persons. Nominations for each new roster (every two years) are made by IUFoST Adhering Bodies and existing IAFoST Fellows; and the existing Fellows are the voters. Their names may be seen on the IUFoST website http://www.iufost.org/international_academy/fellows/

The votes in the 2008 election for new Fellows of the International Academy have been counted and the results determined. Here is a brief report on how the elections worked out.

For a maximum of 30 available places there were 46 nominations.

The electorate consists of the existing Fellows and 80 Fellows voted. That is about 65% of the Fellows (cf 55% in the 2006 elections). This indicates a high level of interest in the International Academy by Fellows. In most elections for professional societies the usual vote return is reportedly 20% or less, but it is not surprising to find a significantly higher level of responsibility and commitment by Academy Fellows in electing new Fellows.

The number of abstentions (voted neither YES nor NO for that candidate) ranged from 3 to 14. The established rule is that more than 1/3 abstentions eliminated that candidate from further consideration. Since 80/3 (rounded-up) = 27, this rule did not need to be invoked. Nevertheless, it is a valuable rule that should be kept for future Fellows elections.

The IAFoST Statutes require that 2/3rds of the voting Fellows must approve a candidate for them to be elected Fellow. According to the rules established by the Executive Council, as on the previous occasion for each candidate this was calculated as: YES votes/(YES + NO votes) and abstentions were not used in the calculation. The outcome is that there were 25 successful candidates - which is a 54% yield (exactly the same yield as in the 2006 elections) and 83% of the maximum number permitted (cf 80% in the 2006 elections); and there were 21 unsuccessful candidates.

The newly elected Fellows are as follows:

Fellows are elected in their personal capacities and not in any sense representing the countries where they are located. However, the countries are listed as a reminder of where each is located.

Along with recognition goes responsibility. IAFoST does more than simply afford recognition of its Fellows. It takes its own initiatives, with appropriate co-ordination, to promote food science and technology, stimulate education and training, and improve international cooperation. Among its activities, the International Academy nominates candidates for the IUFoST Scientific Council for General Assembly approval and sends proposals for members of working groups to the Scientific Council. Its responsibilities also include providing scientific advice to the IUFoST President or the Scientific Council and allocating jury panels for awards.

IAFoST’s Executive Council for 2006-2008 is:

Prof J Ralph Blanchfield, MBE President, International Academy of Food Science & Technology