sofi Awards Program Operations
Move to Rutgers University
The SFA has partnered with Rutgers University
Food Innovation Center to outsource the
operational aspects of the sofi Awards program.
In addition, the SFA has worked with Rutgers
to define and standardize the specialty food
categories used for the sofi Awards, the SFA
admissions process, the specialtyfood.com Product
Marketplace, and the Fancy Food Show Directories.
The process for entering and applying for
the sofi Awards will remain the same; only the
shipping address for product entries will change to
Rutgers' address in Bridgeton, N.J. The judging will
also function the same way but will take place in
Bridgeton at Rutgers' 35,000-square-foot facility.
Entries for the 2020 sofi Awards will
be accepted beginning February 3, 2020.
Approximately 60 seasoned food professionals
will serve as judges, including chefs, culinary
instructors, recipe developers, food journalists, and
specialty food buyers who are experts in specific
categories such as cheese, oil, chocolate, coffee,
and so on. The judges work independently in blind-
tasting sessions to evaluate each product based on
taste, ingredient quality and, in the case of new
products, innovation. Every judge will give the
product a score of 1 to 5 for each criterium, and the
scores will be averaged for a final score between
1.00 and 5.00 points.
"SFA is excited about the opportunity to
do the sofi Awards judging at the Rutgers Food
Innovation Center," says Ron Tanner, vice
president, education, government, and industry
relations. "SFA will continue to manage the
judging process while Rutgers will bring its food
knowledge and professionalism to the handling
and presentation of the products."
For more information, go to
specialtyfood.com/awards/sofi
SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM
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