Food industry leaders focus attention on FAPC research
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
The Industry Advisory Committee of Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center recently met on the OSU campus to learn more about faculty research and discuss how the advisory board can help meet the needs of the center.
“We are fortunate to have an advisory board that is invested in the future of the center,” said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “The committee members understand the importance of our projects and are continuously looking for ways we can grow and better serve the food and agricultural industries.”
The advisory board, representing food and agricultural leaders around the state, met June 6 to hear project updates, specifically research, and meet with FAPC faculty and staff.
“As a state-of-the-art food-processing center, research is a vital component of our mission,” Escoubas said. “It’s important for our advisory board to understand the kind and types of research we’re conducting, and in turn, they help keep us on track with timely and important issues facing the food and agricultural industries.”
Some of the research projects presented during the meeting included determining spending habits of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligible and ineligible households, building a low-cost texture measurement device for food, developing value-added products from pecan shells, testing grape varieties for Oklahoma red wines, validating a South African dried meat product called biltong and creating snack products from brewers’ spent grain.
John Patrick Lopez of Lopez Foods in Oklahoma City and chair of the committee said the meeting was beneficial in learning more about the center.
“FAPC is essential to what we do,” Lopez said. “It’s important to understand how FAPC truly helps Oklahoma businesses.”
FAPC serves as a catalyst for Oklahoma businesses, and in 2018, the center assisted large, medium, small and entrepreneurial businesses, creating a total economic impact of $57,883,500 and adding value to the state.
During the meeting, the committee also elected new officers for 2019-2020. Ed Clements of Clements Foods in Oklahoma City, Tommy Kramer of Kramer Consulting Co. in Durant and Erica Hering of Ralph’s Packing Co. in Perkins will serve as chair, vice chair and secretary, respectively.
Members of the committee are appointed by the governor; the speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives; the Senate president pro tempore; and the vice president, dean and director of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, of which FAPC is a part.
In addition to Lopez, Clements, Kramer and Hering, other members of the committee include Scott Dvorak, Dvorak Farms; Joe Ford, Shawnee Milling Co.; John Griffin, Griffin Foods; David Howard, Howard Industries; Curtis Jurgensmeyer, J-M Farms; Rodger Kerr, Southwest Economic Development Corp.; Max McDermott, deVine Water Co.; David McLaughlin, McLaughlin Group LLC; Paul Schatte, Head Country Food Inc.; Mark Vaughan, Fresh Avenue Partners; and ex-officio Tom Coon, OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
The committee meets twice a year, usually in June and November. The June meeting is held at FAPC, while the November meeting is held off-site at the discretion of the committee.
CONTACT: Mandy Gross | FAPC Communications Services | 405-744-0442 | mandy.gross@okstate.edu