German Federation of Food Science and Technology (GeFFoST) Formed

GeFFoST, the German Federation of Food Science and Technology (Deutsche Vereinigung fϋr Lebensmittelwissenschaften und -technologie), a new Adhering Body affiliated with IUFoST, has been formed by a cooperative arrangement between professional scientific societies active in the field of food science and technology and co-opted representatives of universities, research centres and government agencies.

GeFFoST is hosted and supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), the central, self-governing research organization that promotes research at universities and other publicly financed research institutions in Germany. The DFG serves all branches of science and the humanities by funding research projects and facilitating co-operation among researchers (www.dfg.de). The GeFFoST contact is Prof Dr Herbert Buckenhϋskes, e-mail: h.buckenhueskes@dlg.de.

Member societies of GeFFoST include the following:

German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft fϋr Ernährung e.V., DGE)
The German Nutrition Society (www.dge.de) was formed in 1953 as a non-profit making organisation obliged to scientific facts. Its aims are:

• to support research into nutrition, collect and evaluate results of related disciplines, identify topics for nutritional research, and award prizes and medals to outstanding scientists;
• coordinate and assure the quality of nutrition coubselling in the Federal republic of Germany, and help promote the health and fitness of the population.

The representative is Prof Dr Jörg Meier, e-mail: jmeier@hs-nb.de.

German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (Deutsche Gesellschaft fϋr Hygiene und Mikrobiologie e.V., DGHM)
The German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology was founded in 1908, and today is one of the oldest specialised societies in the areas of recognition, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Topics of interest of specialised groups within DGHM include infection and immunity, food microbiology and hygiene, gastrointestinal infections, eukaryotic pathogens, microbial systematics, population genetics and infection epidemiology. Working groups cover clinical microbiology, National Reference Centres, general and hospital hygiene, and applied diagnostic methods. The representative is Prof Dr Barbara Becker, e-mail: barbara.becker@fh-luh.de.

German Veterinary Medical Society (Deutsche Veterinärmedizinische Gesellschaft e.V., DVG)
The German Veterinary Medical Society (www.dvg.de) was founded in 1951. The aims of DVG are promotion of science, research and education; promotion of trainees; platform for science through congresses and meetings; education in all fields of the veterinary medical profession; and as a neutral information centre for the public, media and politics. The representative is Prof Dr E Märtibauer, e-mail: e.maertibauer@mh.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de.

Society for Food Chemistry (Lebensmittelchemische Gesellschaft, LChG)
The Society for Food Chemistry, founded in 1947, is the largest division of the German Chemical Society. The LChG offers scientific exchange and professional stimulation among food experts; promotes advanced training by regional, national and international conferences as well as courses and seminars; deals with scientific, technological, legal and professional questions; cultivates contacts to related national and international societies, committees and associations; and promotes young food chemists. The representative is Prof Dr Peter Schieberle, e-mail: peter.schieberle@ch.tum.de.

Association of German Food Technologists (Gesellschaft Deutscher Lebensmitteltechnologen e.V., GDL)
The Association of German Food Technologists (www.gdl-ev.org) represents and promotes the interests food science and technology on the national and international levels. It supports educational measures in food science and technology at basic and advanced levels; promotes cooperation with other organizations and societies in food science and technology; promotes connections between food research institutions and the food industry; and supports the professional interests of its members. The representative is Prof Dr Herbert Huckenbϋskes, e-mail: lwb-hb@t-online.de.

Society for Mycotoxin Research (Gesellschaft fϋr Mykotoxinforschung e.V.)
The Society for Mycotoxin Research (www.mycotoxin.de) was founded in 1997, and promotes research on all scientific fields of mycotoxinology, including mycotoxins and human health, animal health, food and feed safety, toxigenic fungi and mycotoxin production, mycotoxin toxicology, and occurrence and analysis of mycotoxins. The representative is Prof Dr Manfred Gareis, e-mail: manfred.gareis@mri.bund.de.

ProcessNet (ProcessNet – eine Initiative von DECHEMA und VDI-GVC)
ProcessNet (www.processnet.org) is supported by the Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA) and The Association of German Engineers – Society for Chemical and Process Engineering (VDI-GVC), and is the organisational umbrella of the scientific and technical activities of the two societies. ProcessNet develops strategies at the boundaries of disciplines and creates solutions to important technical and scientific problems, to facilitate their transfer into technical applications. The representative is Prof Dr Heike Schuchmann, e-mail: heike.schuchmann@lvt.uni-karlsruhe.de.

Permanent guest organisations include:

German Agricultural Society (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, DLG)
The German Agricultural Society (www.dlg.org), based in Frankfurt, was established in 1885 and specialises in agricultural and food know-how, exhibitions, publishing and certified agricultural and machinery quality and food testing. Each year DLG tests over 20,000 food and beverage products, an important quality recognition for international producers distributing products in Germany, and conducts over 800 tests annually on agricultural machinery. The representative is Prof Dr Herbert Buckenhϋskes, e-mail: h.buckenhueskes@dlg.org.

European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST)
EFFoST is a regional group of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), whose representative is Prof Dr Dietrich Knorr, e-mail: dietrich.knorr@tu-berlin.de.

Research Association of the German Food Industry (Forschungskreis der Ernährungsindustrie e.V., FEI)
The Research Association of the German Food Industry (www.fei-bonn.de) is the central research association of the food industry. Its main objective is the promotion of practice-oriented food research projects across the competitive borders of individual companies, by connecting the food industry and food science on the German and European level. The brepresentative is Prof Dr Jorg Hinrichs, e-mail: jh-lth@uni-hohenheim.de.