International fruit juice union
The International Fruit Juice Union (abbreviation IFU ; English International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers ; French Fédération internationale des producteurs de jus de fruits ) based in Paris is a non-governmental organization that represents the global interests of the fruit juice industry vis-à-vis government or non-governmental bodies such as the World Trade Organization , of the World Health Organization of the UN and the Codex Alimentarius of the WHO and which deals officially and worldwide with technical aspects of fruit juice production and analysis.
The IFU was founded in 1949. Today it is represented in currently 30 member countries on 5 continents. The most important countries are Argentina, Brazil, China, the countries of the European Community, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and the United States of North America.
Its goals are to develop and promote international technical cooperation and trade contacts between national associations and the fruit juice manufacturers in the various countries by collecting and coordinating:
- information
- Regulations
- Guidelines
- scientific activities
the global fruit juice industry.
The IFU sees itself as an international information and communication platform and also promotes the production and consumption of fruit and vegetable juices and related products.
structure
- The highest body of the IFU is the general assembly of delegates with all 66 members.
- Below this is the Executive Committee consisting of 1 President and 12 members.
- President of the IFU has been Dirk Landbergen since 2013 . Vice President is Kees Cools . The business has been run by an Executive Director, John Collins (England) , since July 1, 2015 . Klaus Heitlinger ( VdF ) has been the treasurer since October 2014 .
Commissions
- The Commission for Analysis Methods (Chairman: Mikko Hofsommer, GfL - Society for Food Research, Berlin )
- The Legislative Commission (Chair: Romana Vanova-Hrncirik, PepsiCo )
- Public Relations Commission and Members (Chairman: Jan Hermans, AIJN - European Fruit Juice Association, Brussels )
- The Scientific-Technical Commission (Chairman: Helmut Dietrich, Research Institute for Horticulture and Viticulture , Geisenheim / Rheingau)
The latter works on scientific and technical issues and is jointly responsible for holding scientific congresses. An important work focus of the commission is the subject of health and nutrition and here the importance that fruit juice has in modern nutrition.
It coordinates scientific activities in the field of the fruit juice industry and is a discussion forum for all areas that concern the production, marketing and health assessment of fruit juices.
In October 2006, the German Helmut Dietrich ( Research Institute for Horticulture and Viticulture Geisenheim ) was elected chairman of the Scientific and Technical Commission.