- SAAFoST was Founded in 1960 in Cape Town.
- Three active centres: Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng, where the Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Branches are based
- Total members number up to 1,500.
- Institution and Custodian Members number about 150, including most of the major food companies.
- The Association launched its magazine, FST in February 2012.
- Members receive FST magazine.
- Technical dinner-lectures or breakfast meetings and webinars are held monthly.
- Workshops, seminars and symposia are held annually.
- An International Congress & Exhibition is held biennially
The biennial, SAAFoST International Congress & Exhibition is the African continent’s premier food science and technology event.
Distinguished food scientists are invited to deliver the prestigious, Congress-opening, “Ernest Newbery Memorial Lecture” and other plenary lectures. Institute of Food Technologists (IFT, USA) presidents, Dr Janet Collins (2013) and Professor Colin Dennis (2015), delivered the Newbery lecture at the SAAFoST Congresses in Pretoria and Durban in 2013 and 2015 respectively. In 2017, IFT President-Elect, Dr Michele Perchonok, former Advanced Food System Lead at NASA/Johnson Space Center, USA, addressed delegates.
The Dreosti Award is presented for the best original Congress research paper
The Ginsburg Award is presented for the best Congress poster
During the Congress, a SAAFoST President’s Award is presented to an organisation or to an individual who excels in promoting the SAAFoST mission.
Koeppen Memorial Scholarships, study grants, academic achievement awards, undergraduate bursaries, matric bursaries, travel grants, journalism bursaries and other education-oriented prizes worth over R800,000 are made available annually.
The Association launched the SAAFoST Foundation in 2013 to manage these educational awards.
Meritorious Awards for Journalism are available annually to the printed and electronic media in recognition of and to reward responsible, objective and scientifically-correct reporting on food issues.
The Food Advisory Consumer Service (FACS), a consumer-oriented source of scientifically-correct information on food, launched in 1995, is run by SAAFoST in conjunction with the Association for Dietetics in SA, the Nutrition Society of SA, the SA National Consumer Union and the Dept of Health: Directorate Food Control. It is a part of the International Network of Independent Food Information Organisations which has members in Europe, the USA, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and China. See: www.foodfacts.org.za
SAAFoST is affiliated to:
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in the USA and the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) in the UK.
SAAFoST is represented on:
FLAG – the Food Legislation Advisory Group of the Department of Health; the Food Advisory Consumer Service (FACS), the regional International Union of Nutritional Sciences and on several university education advisory committees.
In 2004, the SAAFoST Custodian concept was launched – a programme, in partnership with selected organisations in the food industry, to further promote and advance food professionalism in South Africa. A list of Custodian Members appears on the SAAFoST website.
The SAAFoST website provides important information on the Association, its events and achievements and includes: the mission statement, the code of conduct; a list of consultants and employment seeking students; scientific information and notices of FS&T events; career information; selected congress and other presentations, lists of award and prize winners & useful links to other FS&T oriented websites: www.saafost.org.za
On the occasion of its 50th Anniversary, SAAFoST hosted, “Food Science Solutions in an Evolving World”, the very successful, 15th International Union of Food Science and Technology World Congress, in Cape Town in 2010. A first for the African continent!