Illinois Soy Foods Center Celebrates
National Soy Foods Month

The Illinois Center for Soy Foods at the University of Illinois will be sponsoring several educational and promotional activities throughout April as part of National Soy Foods Month.

"This national event fits perfectly with the goal of the Center to encourage consumers to eat more healthy products made from soy," said Barbara Klein, professor of food science and human nutrition and co-director of the Center. "While some events are directly aimed at consumers, we also have scheduled several educational programs aimed at food science professionals."

She notes that the Center will be offering a 25 percent discount on all products for sale at the Soy Source store located in the Bevier Hall cafeteria on the U of I Campus. The special offer will run from April 7 to 18.

"This store offers a wide array of conveniently packaged soy foods suitable for individual consumers," Klein said. "These items provide a great opportunity to sample many of the healthy and delicious soy products available in the commercial marketplace. We also will be running several coupons in the student newspaper that will be redeemable during the entire month for two free soy cookies."

Klein points out that other events will focus on educating food science professionals on the many health benefits of soy. The first of these activities will be the Soy Flavors Workshop, which is scheduled for April 22 to 23.

"This session is designed for food technologists, registered dietitians, and other food science professionals interested in learning more about the sensory properties of soy foods," Klein said. "We will cover topics, such as sensory issues in product development, flavor analysis, the effects of aging on human sensory perception, and the acceptability of soy foods in food service."

She adds that the program includes a large number of "hands-on" activities. As part of the training, the participants will design sensory studies and conduct detailed sensory analysis on soy products.

The final event scheduled for National Soy Foods Month will be a one-day conference on "Soy in the Kitchen" on April 26. This hands-on course is designed especially for registered dietitians.

"By taking part in this activity, dieticians can gain practical experience in cooking and preparing soy foods," Klein said. "This will prove invaluable when they advise clients on the best ways to incorporate more soy foods into their diets. The small group setting is especially designed to allow for lively interactive discussions and learning."