STANDING COMMITTEES

Public Affairs Committee

The Public Affairs Committee, chaired by Mahlon Burnette, III, Ph.D. (AACC) is composed of Washington-based members of each society. The committee members, already active in the public policy area, serve as both extensions of, and advisers to, the Consortium staff on all aspects of public affairs. The committee recommends actions, reviews Consortium reports, and analyzes the public policy arena for the Board of Directors. The committee is also a primary source of public policy intelligence, which serves as a guide to the Issue Committees and as the basis for many Nutrition Alert publications. Members of the committee include Sam R. Hoover, Ph.D. (IFT); Karen Knight-McMullen (ASPEN); Gilda Knight (ASCN); Russell M. Jaffe, M.D. (ACN); Lenora Moragne, Ph.D. (ADA); and Catherine Woteki, Ph.D. (SNE).

Fund Raising Committee

The National Nutrition Consortium receives financial support from a variety of sources: the societies, individual scientists, physicians, dietitians, and educators. Private foundations and corporate contributors provide the major share of the program revenues. In addition, honoraria and royalties have been consigned to the Consortium, and the sale of Consortium publications help offset the costs of printing and mailing. The primary task of seeking industry and foundation support for the Consortium falls on the Fund Raising Committee: Andre Bolaffi, Ph.D., Chairman (IFT); Ben F. Buchanan, Ph.D. (IFT); Marjorie Devine, Ph.D. (SNE); Helen A. Guthrie, Ph.D. (AIN); David Hurt, Ph.D. (IFT); Gilbert A. Leveille, Ph.D. (IFT); Mal C. Nesheim, Ph.D. (AIN); and Bruce R. Stillings, Ph.D. (AACC).

ISSUE COMMITTEES

Dietary Recommendations, chaired by Dr. Robert E. Shank, M.D. (AIN), is charged with surveying the dietary recommendations which have been made to the public over the past forty years, identifying areas of agreement and disagreement among scientists, and explaining why the disagreements exist. Members include Carolyn Lackey, Ph.D. (IFT); Janet Schwartz, Ph.D. (SNE); Marilyn Farrand, R.D. (ADA); and William Steffee, M.D., Ph.D. (ASPEN).

Food Labeling, chaired by Carole Bisogni, Ph.D. (SNE), is charged with recommending positions on all issues of food labels and labeling, monitoring development of public policy on these issues, and reporting on the impact of tools such as food labels in the consumer's decision-making. Members include Isabel Wolf, Ph.D. (IFT); George Vahouny, Ph.D. (ASCN); Bonita Wyse, Ph.D. (ADA); Richard Jansen, Ph.D. (AIN); Alta Engstrom, R.D. (ADA); and W. Robert Rout, M.D. (ASPEN).

Food Fortification, chaired by Klaus Lorenz, Ph.D. (IFT), is charged with surveying existing reports and proposals on food fortification, identifying areas of agreement and disagreement among scientists, and explaining why the disagreements exist. They will also draft a food fortification statement, and outline areas of responsibility for the food industry, the government, and the consumer in the fortification of food. Members include Robert Nesheim, Ph.D. (AIN); Mary Bess Kohrs, Ph.D., R.D. (ASCN); Margaret Phillips, M.S., J.D. (SNE); Elaine Monsen, Ph.D., R.D. (ADA); and Johanna Roth, R.D. (ASPEN).

Food Safety, is currently being formed. It will be charged with monitoring legislative and regulatory actions which impact on Food Safety developing position papers on these actions, and reporting on the effect of such actions on the scientific community represented by the members of the Consortium.

Health Manpower, chaired by Joan Sharp, R.D. (ADA), is charged with monitoring the development of legislative or regulatory actions which impact on health profession training, education, or participation in government programs. The committee will also recommend positions on such issues, and draft reports assessing the impact on the food or nutrition professional of any such actions. Members include John Anderson, M.D. (AIN); William Marion, Ph.D. (IFT); Jo Anne Brasel, M.D. (ASCN); Jean Hankin, R.D., Dr.P.H. (At-Large); and Howard Jacobson, M.D. (SNE).

Nutrition Research, chaired by M. C. Nesheim, Ph.D. (AIN) is charged with developing a coordinated strategy on nutrition research needs that integrates the view of the food science and nutrition community. Mechanisms for increasing the awareness of the contributions of food science, and human nutrition research to societal goals as well as enhancing greater interactions among professional groups, the private sector, and federal agencies is explored. Members include Esther Winterfeldt, Ph.D. (ADA), James R. Kirk, Ph.D. (IFT), Katherine Clancy, Ph.D. (SNE), James L. Vetter, Ph.D. (AACC), and Dr. Reginald Tsang, Ph.D. (ACN).

MEMBER SOCIETIES

American Dietetic Association (ADA)

The American Dietetic Association is a national organization representing 47,000 dietitians and dietetic technicians. The objectives of the association are: to improve the nutrition of human beings, to advance the science of dietetics and nutrition, and to promote education in these and allied areas.

Registered Dietitians provide expert nutritional care based on their specialized education in the biological sciences, foods and food science, the behavioral sciences, and in management systems.

Communications within the association include The ADA Courier, issued six times per year, and The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, issued monthly. As a means of providing information, position papers, scientific publications, meetings, and statements on legislative and public policy issues are utilized. Reaction statements to proposed regulations and testimony before Congressional committees are regularly provided by the association. Continuing education activities through conferences, workshops, cassette series, and professional meetings are provided for members.

National Nutrition Month, a yearly event sponsored by the association, is for the purpose of creating a public awareness of the importance of adequate nutrition. This activity supports one of the goals of the association, which is nutrition education for the public.

American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)

The American Institute of Nutrition is a professional society of 2,000 nutrition scientists which develops and extends nutrition knowledge and facilitates personal contact between members. Members of this society include scientists in nutrition and related fields from universities, medical institutions, and industry elected by fellow scientists on the basis of demonstrated research competence and productivity in the field of experimental nutrition. AIN publishes the monthly Journal of Nutrition and the quarterly AIN Notes. It also co-sponsors meetings with scientific societies to present nutrition research findings, and awards for outstanding nutrition research efforts.

The AIN participates in the public affairs activities of the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology. In addition, the committee, Public Nutrition Information, provides scientific information on nutrition, explaining dietary needs, the role of nutrition in public health, and the question of safety of food supply. The committee also attempts to combat nutrition misinformation through print and broadcasting media, as well as in personal communication, whenever the opportunity arises to refute erroneous material that has been published or circulated.

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American Society for Clinical Nutrition (ASCN)

The American Society for Clinical Nutrition is a professional society of 500 nutrition scientists elected to membership by their fellow scientists on the basis of demonstrated research competence and productivity in the field of clinical nutrition.

The objectives of the ASCN are to encourage undergraduate and graduate nutrition education, particularly in medical schools, to foster research in human nutrition in health and disease, to provide opportunity for investigators to present and discuss their research in human nutrition through the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and to promote the proper application of the findings of nutrition research to the practice of medicine and related health professions. Members of the Society have a special obligation and a unique opportunity to help make reliable nutrition information readily available and to speak out against nutrition misinformation or unwarranted extrapolations.

As members, ASCN participates in the public affairs and public information programs of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and the Council of General Medical Societies. The Society's Committee on Clinical Nutrition Issues in Health and Disease responds to requests from the Council in providing state-of-the-art summaries for the nutrition and legislative communities on clinical nutrition.

American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN)

The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's 3,500 members are health care professionals (physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, nutritionists, etc.) dedicated to the fostering of good nutritional support of patients during hospitalization and rehabilitation. By promoting the team approach and by educating health care professionals at all levels, ASPEN encourages the development of improved nutritional support. procedures and improved patient care. ASPEN also undertakes the development and validation of guidelines for the nutritional assessment and support of individuals in both disease and healthy states. ASPEN provides information through the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, ASPEN Update, and a variety of monographs, as well as a wide program of national, regional, and local nutrition-related educational activities.

Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)

The Institute of Food Technologists is a worldwide society of 18,000 professional food technologists, scientists, engineers, executives, and educators in the field of food and related technology. The Insitute's major objectives are the promotion of the application of science and engineering to the improved production, processing, packaging, distribution, preparation, evaluation, and utilization of foods in order to provide better and more adequate diets for mankind.

IFT publishes scientific background papers on food technology issues, conducts regional and annual meetings for the scientific community, and publishes two journals the monthly Food Technology and the bi-monthly Journal of Food Science.

An IFT network of Regional Communicators (professional food technologists primarily from the academic community) act as news-media contacts across the nation. Scientific Status Summaries are developed by IFT's Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition, thoroughly reviewed by peers, and distributed in the name of the Regional Communicators. News releases highlighting the Summaries accompany them and are frequently the major text cited in the media. These Communicators are frequently called by media people on related topics to provide feature material, expand on wire service stories, or to serve as expert guests on TV/radio shows.

Society for Nutrition Education (SNE)

The Society for Nutrition Education is an organization of 6,000 nutrition professionals active in nutrition education. The Society's primary goal is to promote nutritional well-being for all people through education, communication, and education-related research. It prints nutrition education resource listings for pre-school, primary, and secondary training, as well as for health professionals, and has produced four educational films. It also publishes the quarterly Journal of Nutrition Education and a newsletter for members, the SNE Communicator. The Society maintains a nutrition education resource center containing publications and films.

The SNE Public Policy Advisory Council and its ad hoc special interest task forces develop position statements related to public policy for SNE. The Legislative network disseminates public affairs information to the members. Divisions link members with particular nutrition education interests: Higher Education, Industries, and Children and Public Health.

LIAISON SOCIETIES