NCIFT Luncheon

February 14 | 11:45 am - 1:00 pm | Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel | Magnolia Ballroom

Join us for lunch with Tara HcHugh, Pacific West Area Director of USDA, to discuss Innovations in Sustainable Food Processing for Health.

Dr. Tara McHugh received her B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University followed by her Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of California at Davis. Dr. McHugh is the Pacific West Area Director for the USDA, Agricultural Research Service. She leads the Pacific West Area’s diverse research program finding scientific solutions to agricultural problems of importance to the U.S. Formerly, she was Center Director of the Western Regional Research Center in Albany, CA. She has personally led an innovative research program on enhancing the marketability, healthfulness, safety and sustainability of agricultural commodities and processed foods. During her career, Dr. McHugh has authored or co-authored more than 160 peer reviewed publications and eight patents, five of which have been licensed.

Many of the innovative processing technologies Dr. McHugh and her team developed have been commercialized, and several have created new small businesses in rural areas. Tara has also received a multitude of awards, including the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, two USDA Secretary Honors Awards, the Arthur S. Flemming Award, and two Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards.