The International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) will host its 60th annual BevTech meeting April 29-May 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The meeting provides a forum for presentation of scientific and technical papers and ISBT technical committee meetings.

This year’s program includes a keynote on April 29 titled “The State of the Union for the Beverage Industry” presented by Rhona Applebaum, vice president and chief science and regulatory officer for The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta. Afterward, Els de Vos, sensory and beverage application engineer with Tate & Lyle, Decatur, Ill., will give a presentation about European Union regulatory updates. Other educational sessions throughout the day will cover Fair Trade certification, the rising cost of beverage ingredients and truck worker safety.

The next day’s keynote comes from Gary Hemphill, senior vice president for Beverage Marketing Corp., New York, who will discuss beverage and consumer trends. Additional topics discussed on April 30 will include sanitation, flexible packaging, aseptic processing and an update on alicyclobacillus culture collection.

On the final day of the conference, David Allison from the University of Alabama at Birmingham will discuss the association between beverage consumption and obesity in a presentation titled “Beverages & Obesity: Separating supposition and exaggeration from demonstrated facts.” Afterward, James Rippe with the University of Central Florida will discuss the health implications of sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup and fructose, and Jocelyn Gadson, principal engineer with The Coca-Cola Co., will present “Advanced Beverage Process Water Treatment for Recovery and Indirect Potable Reuse.” In the afternoon, experts will discuss water reuse guidelines and non-traditional ingredients for targeted benefits.

The schedule also includes technical committee forums each day and a seminar on May 2 titled “Novel Ingredients and Unique Processing for Beverages Beyond Traditional Cold-Filled.”

 ISBT’s annual meeting is open to all members of the society. For more information, to join ISBT or to register, visit bevtech.org.