NYSG's Ken Gall wins Seafood Science Award
Atlantic Fisheries Technology Conference Honors Gall with 2007 McFee Award
Contact: Ken Gall
Phone: 631.632.8730
E-mail: klg9@cornell.edu
STONY BROOK, NY, November 29, 2007 - At the November meeting of the Atlantic Fisheries Technology Conference (AFTC) in Portland, Maine, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) seafood specialist Ken Gall became the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Earl P. McFee Award in recognition of his experience in delivering vital scientific information to the seafood industry and helping to ensure the safety of seafood products. The award is named for the creator of the technology that made possible the fish sandwich alternative to the fast food burger.
“The AFTC is happy to announce that Ken Gall received the 2007 McFee award. He is an excellent choice and we very much appreciate all that he has done in the area of seafood science and technology,” said Luc Leclerc of the Aquatic Products Technology Centre in Québec and member of the jury committee. Gall, a member of the AFTC, is internationally known for his extensive training of members of the seafood industry on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), a scientific approach to keep seafood safe from catch to consumer.
“We congratulate Ken Gall on his award and applaud his efforts in bringing innovative research from the food laboratory to the seafood industry,” says Jack Mattice, Director of New York Sea Grant. “Gall’s role has been vital in New York Sea Grant’s research of Listeria, a pathogen that can adversely affect the ‘ready to eat’ seafood industry.”
The theme of this year’s conference "Enhancing seafood choices: quality, technology and products,” focused on all aspects of aquatic food product technologies, including production, processing, packaging, and safety. Selection as a McFee Award recipient is a unique professional distinction. The award recognizes outstanding and extraordinary qualifications, experience and contributions to the field of seafood science and technology and is open to all private industry, government and university personnel world-wide.
Earl P. McFee was the Research and Quality Control Director of Gorton Corporation in the 1950s when the breaded fish industry was in its infancy. McFee is credited with standardization of the frozen fish block, development in tempering, slicing and thawing of fish blocks and creation of the McDonald’s Corporation breaded fish portions. His greatest accomplishment was to foster better quality and sanitation standards for the entire seafood industry.
“Three decades later, Ken Gall has also had a great impact in the seafood technology field,” says Robert Kent, NYSG Extension Coordinator. “He has supported and nurtured the New York Seafood Council and developed a HACCP distance learning program used not only from coast to coast, but internationally.”
Since 1971, New York Sea Grant, a partnership of the State University of New York, Cornell University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been “Bringing Science to the Shore” through research, extension and education efforts that address issues vital to the environmental and economic health of New York’s marine and Great Lakes coasts.
