Jurors

Terry founded MLG Enterprises Limited & developed it into a significant global supplier of Specialty Food Ingredients that are used by Industrial Pharmaceutical, Food, Beverage processors. It is currently situated in a 23,000 sq. Ft building that processes ~4,000,000 kilos P.A. of Specialty Food Ingredients. Terry also holds a certificate in Baking Science & Technology. He is widely recognized as an expert on liquid sweeteners especially, molasses, malt, and sugars.

Belinda is Vice-President of the Food Canada division with Dempsey Corporation, a specialty food ingredients distributor in Toronto. She is a Food Scientist with a passion for helping others achieve their goals. She loves learning about what we eat and how functional ingredients make food better. She has a B.A.Sc. Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and a M.Sc. Food Science from the University of Guelph. She is licensed as a P.Eng with PEO and is a CFS (Certified Food Scientist). She has over 25 years’ experience in the food industry selling ingredients, at small and large companies such as Cargill Inc, and International Sugars.

Belinda was President of CIFST (Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology) from 2013-2014 and was a CIFST volunteer for 18 years. She was on the steering committee for the 2014 IUFoST World Congress of Food Science and Technology, which attracted 2000 attendees to Montreal. She is currently a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN). Belinda also volunteers with the Girl Guides of Canada as a Pathfinder, Ranger and Trex leader, leading adventurous and confidence-building activities for girls from 12-17 years of age.

Roseanne Mcguire has done Product Development and Sensory Specialist with over 25 yrs of experience in food/flavour/beverage industry, with an agriculture background and good understanding of the maple syrup creation from farm to table as well as an ability to taste/profile flavours of all the different maple products.

Laurine has 15 years in food industry in quality and R&D departments:

• on industrial lines of rusk, toast, ""choux"" > Pasquier, Mademoiselle dessert
• in ingredient solution for bakers (sourdough, bread mixes) > Puratos France
• 1 year experience in Canada for patisserie mixes > Puratos Canada
  Passionated in innovation, food and canadian culture.

Steve Owen has early 40 years experience in the food industry primarily on the ingredient side of the business, graduated in Food Technology and have held multiple positions in R&D, Quality, Operations, Sales, and business leadership.

Graduated from Université Laval in Food Science in 2019, François has worked in the dairy industry in research and development. He is now Process Optimization Coordinator at Qualtech and worked to help and assist food manufacturers in the development and optimization of their processes and products.

Alice Marciniak recently started an assistant professor position in Dairy Science at the University of Guelph in the department of Science. She graduated from Université Laval in Quebec where she explored the impact of processing on food proteins. She joined the Ohio State University for a postdoctoral research experience. Currently she is working in improving the sustainability of the food system by offering new solution for side streams valorization through processing.

Lavina is a food scientist and product developer with over 15 years of experience in R&D, process development and ideation. She has worked in various industries such as bakery, soups, beverages, plant-based nutrition and meat alternatives, and has launched numerous new products into club, retail and foodservice channels.

She loves the multi-disciplinary aspect of R&D, and started her career immersed in ingredient functionality, process engineering, quality systems, packaging and scale-up. Prior to joining CFIN, Lavina was responsible for exploring the fuzzy front-end of the innovation process and developing long-range strategies for consumer-led product concepts.

In addition to her R&D experience, she has also worked as an SR&ED consultant, servicing CPG and agri-food businesses across British Columbia, and, as a food technology instructor at BCIT.

Lavina hopes to draw upon her hands-on industry and manufacturing experience to help businesses achieve their innovation goals. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Master of Food Science from the University of British Columbia.

Hello, my name is Valérie Leclerc. I am currently in my third year of Food Chemistry at McGill University. This year I am the student representative for CIFST Quebec section, representing the Food Science Student Association of McGill University – Macdonald Campus. I also work part-time as an R&D assistant coordinator for a protein company in Montreal. I would be most interested in becoming a judge in the Maple Innovation Challenge.

Judy Chow has over 12 years of experience in regulatory affairs working with food manufacturers, retail private label, and consultants. Prior to embarking on a career working directly in the food industry, she devoted the first 12 years of her career after graduation to working at the University of Guelph as an administrator and instructor for the university's food science program by distance education. Her degrees in nutrition and food science have been valuable over the course of her career. She has also augmented her professional education by completing certificates in educational technology and in supply chain management.

Judy has been a member of CIFST for over 20 years. From 2001-2011, she was the chair of the Guelph section of CIFST prior to its amalgamation with the Toronto section to create the Ontario section. She participated in CIFST's mentorship program in 2018 and 2019 as a mentor sharing her experiences with new professionals in the industry. She also been a long-standing member of IFT and was active on their education working group during the late 1990's. She has previously volunteered to review submissions for posters and symposium topics for IFT's annual conference.

Louis A. Colaruotolo is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Guelph Department of Food Science studying how structure impacts the shelf life of novel food-based materials in efforts to make a more sustainable and equitable food system for the future. Louis started his educational journey in culinary trade school, and driven by a mixture of curiosity, luck, and stubbornness, he is currently working on his Ph.D.. In addition to his research, Louis is an active science communicator, hosting a radio show "We Know Some Stuff" that aims to make science a conversation rather than a lesson or lecture.

Sandra Bérubé is Senior Account Manager at Dempsey. She started her career in R&D for companies like Ouimet-Cordon Bleu and Danone where she contributed, among other things, to the success of the Activia brand. Since then, she has been traveling through Quebec and the eastern provinces, offering technical solutions to the food processing industry. Assisting manufacturers in their clean label transition and helping them achieve the best taste and texture possible for their products are the most rewarding aspects of her job.

M. Ayala Bribiesca studied food engineering in Mexico. He continued his academic journey at Université Laval, completing a Masters degree and a Ph.D. in Food science and technology, specializing in dairy. His research project, conducted in collaboration with the Institut national de la recherche agronomique in France, focused on the influence of cheddar cheese structure on its nutritional properties. Graduated from the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec in professional cuisine, he adds a gourmand knowledge of Quebec’s products to his fields of science. He taught food chemistry and food technology for many years at Université de Montréal and, afterwards, at Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe. He has been collaborating with the TV show L’épicerie for the past several years as a food chemistry expert and he writes articles to help popularizing science. Since 2017, M. Ayala Bribiesca has joined the food industry, where he works in research and development in the field of flavours, particularly in their use in culinary creation.