The Institute of Food Technologists will hold its Annual Meeting and Food Expo June 25-28 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The show will include more than 500 ingredient companies showcasing their products in more than 2,000 exhibit booths. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to attend 100 Scientific Technical Program sessions and more than 1,400 presentations covering themes such as bioterrorism and food defense, functional foods, globalization of the food industry and food allergens. Technical presentations and exhibition hours are scheduled during conflict-free hours to allow attendees to make the most of both offerings.

Specialty pavilions on the show floor will include the Organic Food Ingredients Pavilion, Healthy Food Ingredients Pavilion, Food Safety & Quality Pavilion, and the International Pavilion.

Food Network celebrity chef Alton Brown will open the Food Expo with a keynote address on Sunday, June 25. The host of “Good Eats” and a participant on “Iron Chef America,” Brown is said to combine science, history and culture to create exciting presentations. He is author of I’m Just Here for the Food, which won the 2003 James Beard Award and features the stories behind favorite ingredients and food experiments. Other books include I’m Just Here for More Food and Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking.

The IFT Show also will feature a number of non-technical programs, some of which carry an additional registration fee. The IFT/RCA Culinology Demonstrations will include a series of presentations that each will cover the grab-and-go trend in a different way. Food scientists will collaborate with chefs from the Research Chefs Association to create a grab-and-go culinary innovation each day of the expo at 12:30 p.m., right on the expo floor.

The Old World vs. New World Comparative Wine Tasting will be presented by IFT’s Fermented Foods & Beverages Division on June 25 at 5:30 p.m. Participants will explore the history of the top wine-producing regions and sample wines from around the world. The course will be presented by Patrick Dodd, Certified Wine Educator and E&J Gallo Winery’s director of education and hospitality.

Managing Multiple Projects, Objectives and Deadlines will be held June 27 at 9:00 a.m. Attendees will learn how to get and keep control of concurrent projects, competing priorities and critical deadlines. Coaching and Teambuilding Skills for Managers & Supervisors will be held June 27 at 12:00 p.m. and will focus on building teamwork leads to improve productivity and morale. How to Negotiate with Vendors and Suppliers will take place June 27 at 3:00 p.m. and will offer tips for getting the desired outcome from negotiations with vendors and suppliers. Additionally, the SpeedNetworking session will help attendees sharpen networking skills by matching participants with industry representatives.

The Global Food Safety and Quality Conference will be held June 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will feature a full day of programming on food safety in Latin America and the impact on global trade. The conference will be co-sponsored with the Latin American and Caribbean Association of Food Science and Technology.