Stevia World » Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speakers

Speaker Profile: QiBin Wang, VP of Research & Development, GLG Life Tech Corporation

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:25:42 +0000

QiBin Wang is Vice President of Research & Development for GLG’s seed operations. An academic, he has taught all levels of school including university levels and has served in various administrative positions in Chinese universities including President of Bengbu Cadre College.

Mr. Wang began cultivating stevia in 1984 and established a stevia growing base with Tianjin Nankai University in 1989. In 2001, Mr. Wang applied for the stevia “Skyland 1″ hybrid patent and in 2006 he applied for the “Runde 1″ stevia hybrid patent. Mr. Wang ensures GLG has the best breed of stevia leaf in support of its operations and expansion plans.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 2 – Friday, May 15
09:05 Latest Extraction & Refining Technology

Stevia World 2009 in Shanghai is a showcase of the who’s who in Stevia sector, including top stevia growers, refiners, traders, key stevia organisations, government officials, scientists and investors who will highlight Upcoming opportunities, Pinpoints Regulatory Challenges & Shares Market Updates. To find more about Stevia World in Shanghai from May 14 to 15, 2009, please visit http://www.steviaworldforum.com

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Speaker Profile: Dr. Luke Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, GLG Life Tech Corporation

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:17:25 +0000

With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Luke Zhang is a recognized individual in the business, medical and academic communities in both North America and Asia. He has successfully built and managed a number of firms in the health industry, food industry, medical equipment and software development industries.

He holds a Ph. D. in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University in the United States, a Masters of Science in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Shanghai First Medical University in China and a Bachelor of Medicine from Shandong Medical University in China.

His expertise in the medical field has helped fuel company growth as well as set foundational principals in research and innovation. In addition, his vision and strategic direction have enabled the company to maintain a leading edge in the global community.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
12:00 Stevia: Past and Future

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Speaker Profile: Prof. Tran Dinh Long, Project Leader, Stevia Development, WaterLand Vietnam Corp.

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:12:09 +0000

Prof. Dr Tran Dinh Long obtained his D.Sc. Doctor in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the Kishinev State University in the USSR. He has published several books and co-authored some other books on Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni and many other books on agriculture crops and medical plants.

Prof. Dr. Long started in 1989 to manage the development and plant improvement of the Stevia and collected accessions and cultivars from various countries through careful selection, isolated cultivars capable of producing high contents of glucosides with high ratios of Steviosides as feedstock for medicine uses for diabetics’ and hypertension patients. Prof. Dr. Long has presented his selection techniques in various Vietnamese, Chinese and Russians conferences and publications on Stevia.

Since 2006, he started with the development and plant improvement of the jatropha Curcas Linn and Stevia species on Reb A content in Vietnam. He is member of National Steering Committee (NSC) UNDP-GEF/SGP (Global Environment Facility-Small Grants Programme), principal Scientist of Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) and President of the Vietnam Seed Association (VSA) MARD.

Presently he is the head project leader of Waterland Vietnam, Corp on the Stevia development project.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
16:30 Vietnam’s experience (Tropical climate, Perennial plant)

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Speaker Profile: Murali Dharan, CEO, Mianzhu Gold Tree Agrotech

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:22:37 +0000

Murali Dharan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mianzhu Gold Tree Agrotech in Sichuan, Eastern China.

Murali has been conducting business in China for 15 years. He was previously operating in the oil & gas sector.

He chanced upon Stevia opportunity in 2005, when China pushed to build up the Eastern part of the country. After careful due diligence, he decided to invest in stevia growing in Sichuan because of its ideal land and climatic condition for agriculture.

With Sichuan government’s support and incentives, he started the propagation facility in Mianzhu in Nov ’08. It is currently the largest seedling facility in China. They will soon begin large-scale stevia cultivation using outgrower system. It is also part of their plan to build an extraction facility once they have substantial acreage.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
12:30 Opportunity of Growing Stevia in China

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Speaker Profile: Carl Horn af Rantzien, Director, Regulatory Affairs, European Stevia Association (EUSTAS)

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:36:52 +0000

EUSTAS, the European Stevia Association, is a nonprofit organization, founded and presided by Prof. Jan Geuns from the University of Leuven, Belgium.

EUSTAS’s role is to promote and coordinate all activities focusing on research and health in relation to Stevia rebaudiana and related compounds, to show that they are safe for human consumption and to place a new application with the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, for the approval of Stevia rebaudiana as a sweetener. EUSTAS represents the interests of consumers, science, and the industry, where stevia is concerned.

Speaker Profile
Carl Horn is the Head of Regulatory Affairs at EUSTAS, the European Stevia Association.

Carl has been serving as an advisor to various companies in the financial sector and has been serving as a liaison and advisor to a number of public companies in the health care, environmental and electronics industries in the United States. In addition, he is an advisor to a number of private companies.

Carl has had a long time interest in and commitment to Public-Health related issues. Carl co-founded and developed a major Public Health project in Sweden in the Seventies, A Non-Smoking Generation, and brought the concept to the US. He presented a paper at the WHO World Health Conference on Smoking and Tobacco in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1982, and has served as an expert on the International Red Cross Panel on Drug Abuse.

Carl Horn is the founder and President of Granular, the Sweden-based European stevia producer.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
11:40 Europe: Regulatory Update

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Speaker Profile: Prof. Yan Li, Jinan University

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:29:43 +0000

Li Yan is a Professor at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

He was the former director of food Science & Technology R&D Center in Jinan University.

Li Yan has been engaged in the research and teaching of “Preparation and Application of Food Additives” for a long time. He has presided over and completed several national, provincial and ministerial-level R&D projects,researched and developed more than ten types of natural and synthetic food additives and industrialization.

Patents owned:

“Preparation method of Theanine”, etc.

Publications:

Preparation &Technology of Food Additives”
“Treatment and Disposal of Waste Solid”
more than 50 articles published in domestic and international journals, e.g. “Monographs on Food Additives”, etc.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 2 – Friday, May 15
12:05 Steviol Glycoside Production and Environmental Protection

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Speaker Profile: Dr. Ahmed E. Attia El-Shikh, Researcher, Sugar Crops Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:45:28 +0000

Dr Ahmed E. Attia El-Shikh is a Researcher in the Breeding and Genetics Department, Sugar Crops Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt. He is responsible for stevia scientific program in the Sugar Crops Research Institute. He has a PhD degree in Agricultural Sciences from Ain-Shams University, Egypt on Stevia Propagation Methods. He’s been working on stevia cultivation, propagation and breeding in both academic and private sector since year 2000.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
16:00 Egypt’s experience (Dessert climate)

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Speaker Profile: Lucy Dahlgren, Project Director, Granular AB

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:22:09 +0000

Granular, the European stevia company, markets Real Stevia TM to the global Food and Beverage industry. It was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Granular has it roots in Paraguay, where it works in close collaboration with local NGOs and is growing certified organic leaves. It is now extending its Asian operations where it is building a clean tech factory. Granular’s business approach is based on corporate sustainability. Granular focuses on ethical and environmentally friendly small scale sourcing and strives at improving its farmer’s quality of life. Thanks to its Quality Control system, Granular tracks its stevia from field to fork and guarantees a reliable and constant supply of premium quality stevia to its customers.

Speaker Profile
Mrs Lucy Dahlgren graduated from Aarhus School of Business in Denmark 1993 with a major in Marketing. She also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration in Project Management from Henley Management College in England.

Mrs. Dahlgren has extensive experience and significant achievements in leading complex projects for the Scandinavian biggest project management company. Her clients include European investment banks, international agencies, and private sector compagnies. Mrs. Dahlgren has carried out numerous projects for Swedish agencies, especially in performing design and roll-out programs for Swedish cleantech in emerging markets.

Mrs. Dahlgren is currently assigned as Project Director for Granular, in charge of the contruction of new production facilities in China and Paraguay.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 2 – Friday, May 15
11:05 Towards Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly Stevia Processing

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Speaker Profile: Prof. David Midmore, Director – Centre for Plant and Water Science, Central Queensland University

admin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:26:22 +0000

The Centre of Plant and Water Sciences of CQUniversity researches issues of plant production, utilisation and conservation, and related natural resource management of relevance to the sustainable development of Central Queensland and climatically similar regions. It provides a range of research training opportunities at the postgraduate and undergraduate level in the plant and water sciences. Its three major research foci are: Water and the environment; Quality food and integrated production systems; Emerging plant industries. The latest strategic plan is to be found at http://cpws.cqu.edu.au/FCWViewer/getFile.do?id=5671

Speaker Profile
Professor David Midmore has been for the past thirteen years the Foundation Professor of Plant Sciences and the Director for the Centre for Plant and Water Sciences at CQUniversity, Australia. He has promoted the development of a number of niche crop industries while in Australia, and prior to that he was employed in various research and development capacities in Taiwan, Peru, the Caribbean and Mexico working in public and private originations. With Andrew Rank he gained approval by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand for steviol glycosides to be accepted as intense sweeteners, opening up a potential new crop industry for Australia.

Overview of presentation
The presentation will cover two main aspects relating to stevia. The first will provide updated information on the role of steviol glycosides within the stevia plant, in an attempt to understand how to improve upon the amount and quality of steviol glycosides in stevia plants, and the second will provide an overview of the current and potential stevia industry in Australia.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 2 – Friday, May 15
09:35 Production of Steviol Glycosides/ Usage in Australia

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Speaker Profile: Dorn Wenninger, Corporate VP Supply Chain, PureCircle

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:55:53 +0000

Platinum Sponsor of Stevia World 2009.

PureCircle (LSE:PURE) is the world’s leading producer of high-purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A), with a vertically integrated supply chain operating in three continents. PureCircle markets a range of natural sweeteners internationally. Activities range from the sourcing of dry stevia leaves and extraction, refining of high-purity Reb A into sweeteners and marketing of these sweeteners to food and beverage manufacturers worldwide.

PureCircle’s extraction plant can produce 4,000MT of stevia extract annually which is currently the world’s largest extraction facility. The Company has built the world’s largest state-of-the-art refining plant in Malaysia. This currently produces 1,000MT of high purity Reb A and will shortly double the capacity to 2,000MT. The Company’s production facilities operate in compliance with cGMP, HACCP and ISO standards.

During 2008, PureCircle announced contract extensions with Cargill and major new contracts with PepsiCo and Whole Earth Sweetener Company for the supply of high purity Reb A in beverages, foods and tabletop sweeteners worldwide including the exclusive license to market PureViaTM Reb A as a ingredient (PureVia™ is a trademark of PepsiCo Inc and Whole Earth Sweetener Company LLC: see www.reb-a.com and www.purevia.com).

PureCircle’s investment in research and development has given it a leadership position in the manufacture of highpurity Reb A, and their scientists are globally recognized experts in their field.

The Company works with independent farmers in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, China, Paraguay, and Kenya to grow the best quality stevia leaf. PureCircle works closely with communities in each of these countries and endeavours to maximise the social, economic and environmental benefits of its operations.

PureCircle’s corporate offices are located in New Jersey USA; Geneva, Switzerland; Asuncion, Paraguay; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ganzhou, China and Kericho, Kenya.

PureCircle is the Platinum Sponsor of Stevia World 2009.

Speaker Profile
Dorn Wenninger is the Corporate Vice President of Supply Chain for PureCircle. In this role, he is responsible for all supply side operations, from breeding, propagation, production, joint ventures, extraction and refinery factories to logistics.

Dorn comes to PureCircle having spent 16 years in the global agribusiness industry. For 6 years Mr. Wenninger ran the European business of Driscoll’s, the world’s largest marketer of fresh berries. Prior to Driscoll’s, he spent over 8 years in Central and South America with Chiquita Brands, one of the world’s largest banana producers. While Dorn is a United States citizen by birth, he has lived worked and traveled in over 80 countries, across all 6 continents. He holds a masters degree in International Business from the prestigious Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management.

In addition to his work with PureCircle, Mr. Wenninger sits on the Board of Directors of Amigos de las Americas, a Non Profit Organization which provides public health and environmental awareness projects in rural villages of Latin America.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the site of PureCircle’s world class Reb A refinery factory, Dorn splits his time between production sites in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
09:10 Global Supply Chain: Key Success of Reb A to Multinational F&B Companies

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Speaker Profile: Robert McQuate, Ph.D, CEO & Co-Founder, GRAS Associates, LLC, USA

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:06:40 +0000

GRAS Associates, LLC provides technical regulatory consulting services associated with foods that are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We specialize in the safety review of food ingredients which may be considered to be “Generally Recognized as Safe” or GRAS.

The services that we provide respond to the expanding industry needs to access capable scientists who can provide timely safety evaluations that are grounded in sound science. A team of highly skilled toxicologists, biochemists, and regulatory scientists work together to provide the expertise that the law requires in order to make GRAS determinations. We also generate New Dietary Ingredient submissions on behalf of clients, and we prepare Food Contact Notifications for clients who have interest in food processing materials, food packaging materials, or other food contact articles.

More detailed information on GRAS Associates and our team can be found on our website at www.gras-associates.com.

Speaker Profile
Upon completion of his graduate training in chemistry from The Ohio State University and subsequent post-doctoral research in bio-inorganic chemistry, Dr. McQuate started his scientific regulatory career within FDA’s Office of Food Additive Safety in Washington, DC. He subsequently served in technical management positions with The Dial Company and the National Soft Drink Association where he addressed high visibility food ingredient safety issues including non-nutritive sweeteners, such as aspartame. He later served in academic administration with Oregon State University and the University of Oregon while functioning as an independent consultant prior to co-founding GRAS Associates, LLC.

Overview of Presentation
Use of stevia in the United States as a dietary supplement was first authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995, but incorporating high purity stevia-derived sweetener products into formulated or processed foods was not authorized in the US until 2008. By 2008, the safety documentation for high purity rebaudioside A and steviol glycosides was sufficient to fulfill the FDA requirements for “reasonable certainty of no harm under the intended conditions of use,” and this resulted in selected high purity stevia-derived sweeteners being designated as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). GRAS status was conferred on these high purity materials by appropriately qualified independent Expert Panels. In December 2008, FDA announced its agreement that GRAS status was appropriate for these highly purified products.

The FDA regulatory process for food ingredients that resulted in the availability of high purity steviol glycosides for incorporation into formulated foods in the US will be discussed. Appropriate consideration will be given to the most recent scientific studies and safety documentation that support the GRAS status. The pharmacokinetics and toxicology of the subject sweeteners, along with chemical composition and purity issues, will be considered, along with anticipated dietary intake estimates, in affirming the GRAS status of these natural sweeteners.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
10:10 Attaining Regulatory Authorizations for Stevia-Derived Sweetener Food Uses in the United States

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Speaker Profile: Toyoshige Morita, President, Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., Japan

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:52:27 +0000

Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., the first company in the world to succeed in the commercialization of Stevia, from cultivation to refinement, it is the pioneer of Stevia sweeteners. Focusing early on Stevia’s future potential, Morita Kagaku Kogyo made concentrated efforts to improve Stevia’s quality of sweetness and developed a variety rich in Rebaudioside A, known as the Morita variety, making thus possible the development of what was to be established as the world standard, the high-purity Rebaudioside A and creating the foundation of Stevia sweeteners. Highly regarded for its long experience and know-how, Morita Kagaku Kogyo is the producer of the widest variety of Stevia sweeteners, ranging from normal Stevia extracts to enzyme-treated Rebaudioside A products.
http://www.morita-kagaku-kogyo.co.jp

Speaker Profile
Toyoshige Morita is the President of Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. Graduated from Kinki University, School of Science and Engineering in 1969, he has been involved in the Stevia business since 1971. He is an expert of Stevia, with vast experience and significant achievements in cultivation, production and sales. With his long experience in test cultivation in numerous countries and his persistent efforts, he succeeded in breed improvement and has become known for laying the foundations for the industrialization of high-purity Rebaudioside A. He is constantly leading the development of new Stevia sweeteners.

Stevia World 2009 Shanghai Speaker
Day 1 – Thursday, May 14
09:40 Development, Market Outlook & Applications of Stevia in Japan/Stevia Species Development and New Variety

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