UFF Upcycled Food Symposium Part II - Day 1

On this International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, join us for Day One of an engaging virtual symposium with global participants hosted by Dr. Lara Ramdin: an inspiring and informative two days of learning, a global scientific convening on upcycled food innovation! Register for Day Two here.

Dr. Lara Ramdin, UFF Board Member/Scientific Committee Chair

Dr. Lara Ramdin is a systems and design thinking leader at the forefront of innovation and sustainability. With executive experience spanning Unilever, Estée Lauder, Molson Coors, Dole Sunshine Company, and Upcycled Foods Inc., she brings a unique perspective to transforming complex food systems. A passionate advocate for shifting from extractive to circular models, Lara focuses her work at the intersection of food, climate, and consumer empowerment. She champions access to nutritious, sustainable foods that promote longer, healthier lives—advancing the food-as-medicine movement with purpose and precision. As Chief Scientist and Ambassador for FoodxClimate, and a board member of the Upcycled Food Foundation, Lara drives scientific progress in upcycling through her leadership of the Research Fellows Program and as Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee. She also serves as Chair of the IFT Trends Group and Chair-Elect of the IFT Sustainable Food Systems Division. Often called the “Upcycling Queen,” Lara is known for transforming overlooked by-products into nutrient-dense, high-quality ingredients—cutting food waste while tackling food insecurity head-on. Her work lives at the nexus of science, sustainability, and social impact, making her a recognized thought leader shaping the future of food. Lara is also an Emeritus Board Member of the Upcycled Food Association, where her visionary leadership continues to influence food system innovation that nourishes both people and the planet.

Juan Jose Cardenas, Ph.D., RMIT University & University of Adger 

Keynote: How we can turn good intentions into lasting, food-waste-reducing habits?

My research uses a Consumer Engagement lens (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) to pinpoint the levers—nudges, pricing cues, shelf/display tweaks, digital prompts, tailored messaging—that move people from awareness to action across retail and digital contexts. I’ll share a simple, function-based playbook leaders can deploy tomorrow, aligned with SDG 12.3.

Matthew Smardz, PhD Candidate, Cornell University

Co-host

Matt Smardz is a PhD candidate in the Gibney Lab in the Food Science and Technology graduate program. His research centers on designing and expressing novel sweet proteins and engineering microbes for the upcycling and valorization of grape pomace. Before beginning at Cornell, he worked in Dr. Patricia Diaz's Lab in studying the interspecies interactions of pathobionts and commensal bacteria of the subgingival microbiome at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences presentations:

Dr. Elad Tako, Associate Professor, Cornell University

Keynote: The Value of Fruit Skins - Transforming Food Byproducts into Health Benefits

Dr. Elad Tako will provide an overview of his group’s work on models to assess bioactive compound content in waste agricultural materials (primarily fruit, but also grains) and how these can be used to determine valorization strategies and commercial opportunities, including work by Peter Gracey and Melissa Huang (president of the Cornell Upcycled Food Club), Matt Pataki (MS Student, co-founder of PomacePlus) and Haille Greene.

Professor Ke Wang, Cornell University: dairy waste upcycling

Viral Shukla, Postdoctoral Associate, Cornell University

Keynote: Using Food Technology to Enhance Upcycling NPD - Case Studies from NY Byproducts

Viral Shukla is a self-described “science of food activist” a role in which he strives to showcase and demystify the food system. Shukla conducted his PhD work at Cornell University where he studied technical, economical, and sensorial implications of upcycling fruit and dairy side streams. Prior to Cornell, Shukla worked in quality assurance at Kerry, and was a research associate at California State Polytechnic University. He currently serves as a board member at the Institute of Food Technologists, and past advisory board member of the Cal Poly Pomona College of Agriculture, the American Association for Precision Medicine, and several startups. 

David Wishnick, Co-Founder, Nutraberry 

Lightning Talk: Micronizing Agricultural Byproducts: Unlocking Nutrition and Circular Value

Nutraberry, a USDA STTR Phase I awardee, has developed an advanced milling platform that transforms difficult-to-use agricultural byproducts—such as fruit seeds, nut shells, and legume hulls—into ultrafine functional fibers (3–5 μm). Unlike conventional processing, Nutraberry’s single-pass micronization preserves polyphenols within the fiber matrix, improving bioavailability and enhancing gut microbiome interactions.

Steven Grall, Keynote: The OG of Upcycling — and Why Integration Is the Next Frontier

From whey-on-the-farm to zero-liquid-discharge sausage lines, Steven shows how treating utilities and side-streams as product equipment unlocks profit, compliance, and community goodwill.