World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress Sets a New Road Map for the Industry

ANTALYA, Turkey, June 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

• The largest international event dedicated to the nut and dried fruit industries welcomed nearly 1000 participants from more than 60 countries in Antalya, Turkey  
• Key speakers, such as the CEOs of Coca-Cola and Chobani Yoghourts, shared their vision of the sector  

The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC) welcomed nearly 1000 professionals from more than 60 countries who attended the 2015 Congress in Antalya (Turkey) for a program to exchange knowledge and ideas in market development, consumption, product innovation, food safety, nutrition and research. Its key speakers, Nihat Zeybekçi, Minister of Economy of Turkey and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, participated in the opening and the closure of the congress.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150204/728195 )

Mutual concern: Climate change 

Agriculture is dependent on climate, while some regions will get benefits of the effects of climate change due to longer growing seasons and warmer temperatures, adverse impacts will affect many regions with the reduction of winter chill, water flooding and drought. The last few years, crop failure and extraordinary adverse weather conditions were observed in the nut and dried fruit sector.

Excellence of the industry awarded in Antalya 

INC Awards recognize outstanding leaders who have contributed to the excellence of the nut and dried fruit industry:

• Individual Golden Nut Award: Cuneyd Zapsu, Chairman of the congress
• Honorary Golden Nut Award: Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey
• Award for Excellence in Research: Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, Professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and a Senior Scientist and Director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
• Award for Excellence in Gastronomy: Mert Seran, Turkish chef and owner of some popular restaurants in Istanbul
• Innovation Award: TOMRA, for its revolutionary instrument for sorting nuts using a new biometric signature identification technology

New INC Chairman 

In the INC executive committee, Mark Mariani, former INC Vice-Chairman and owner of the US family dried fruit processor company Mariani Packing, took over the task from Giles Hacking, Managing Director of C.G. Hacking and Sons, specialized in the global trade of nuts in the UK, for the following 2 years.

About the INC  

The International Nut & Dried Fruit Council (INC) groups nearly 700 nut and dried fruit-sector companies from over 70 countries. INC is the international organization of reference regarding health, nutrition, statistics, food safety, international standards and regulations relating to nuts and dried fruit.

For more information, please visit http://www.nutfruit.org

For international pressinquiries:

Evercom
Gemma Garcia Farreras
Phone: +34-93-415-37-05
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE INTERNATIONAL NUT AND DRIED FRUIT COUNCIL