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Food Trade Show Finds Food in Short Supply

Posted on: Thursday, 27 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Matt Gamewell Medill News Service

There isn't much food at the Worldwide Food Expo, which opened Wednesday at McCormick Place in Chicago.

It features more than 1,200 exhibitors from the meat, dairy, seafood and beverage businesses, draws more than 30,000 attendees and is one of the 10 largest shows to visit Chicago.

One might expect the world's largest all-you-can-eat buffet, but that is not the case. The show is dominated by the sights and sounds of production materials, assembly line technology, food truck displays, software for supply chain management and food safety equipment.

There are even automatic hand-washing machines and robotic arms for the food production process.

That's not to say there aren't food samples to enjoy, including a large number of booths offering ice cream.

"We see a lot of ice cream at this show because of the ingredients involved and the advances in microbiology," said Janet Riley, one of the show organizers, and a senior vice president of the American Meat Institute.

Riley said the big topics at this year's show are animal welfare and food safety auditing as well as laboratory technology, probiotic food such as a new generation of yogurts and smoothies and traceability within the supply chain.

"Auditing is a big deal, because people want audits of the food supply that go above and beyond government regulation," she said.

Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.

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