Flavor industry members gathered in Washington, DC, on June 18 with the aim of increasing the flavor industry’s profile on Capitol Hill and to promote the Flavor Extract Manufacturer Association’s (FEMA) legislative strategy.
During the morning policy briefing of FEMA’s first “Flavors on the Hill Congressional Fly-in,” Christopher “Kip” Gibson, president of FEMA and vice president and regional manager— North America at International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), said: “This is clearly an important event for us and I’m really glad we’ve got such a great turnout. Hopefully the ranks will swell as we do this, hopefully, on an annual basis going forward. You have to start somewhere and … the success of an event like this is going to be measured over years. We’re here to build a foundation, get some relationships going, understand whom to talk to and how to communicate [our message] with them to get the word out.”
The event participants included employees of 3E Company, Bacardi-Martini Product Development, Bell Flavors & Fragrances Inc., Citrus and Allied Essences Ltd., The Coca- Cola Company, ConAgra Foods, FEMA, Firmenich, Flavor & Fragrance Specialties, FONA International Inc., Givaudan, Grocery Manufacturers Association, IFF, Kalsec Inc., Kellogg Company, The KWT Company, Mane Inc., Mars Inc., McCormick & Co., Mondelez International, National Flavors, Ottens Flavors, Prova Inc., Symrise Inc., Synergy Flavors, Takasago International Corp. and Wild Flavors Inc.
