June 9, 2005

Alltech's Medal of Excellence awarded to Asia Pacific professor

Professor Mingan Choct has been chosen as the 15th recipient of Alltech's Medal of Excellence for his scientific research on specific issues facing the animal feed industry.  The medal will be presented to Professor Choct on Monday, May 22, 2005, at the opening of Alltech's 21st International Feed Industry Symposium. Each year the winner is chosen for his or her exceptional research into natural and advanced solutions to animal health. Professor Choct's work on enzymes and poultry will be highlighted during his presentation at the Symposium, " The role of biotechnology in utilisation of alternative feed ingredients for monogastric animals" .

Professor Choct holds his position at the School of Rural Science and Agriculture at the University of New England, Australia, where he specialises in monogastric animal production in carbohydrate chemistry, feed enzymes and monogastric nutrition. Throughout his career, he has obtained numerous awards for his outstanding contribution to science and technology and in particular for new innovative developments in poultry feed.

Speaking on the recent announcement, Dr. Pearse Lyons, President of Alltech, exclaimed, "The goal of Symposium is to bring together industry leaders to share ideas on advancing animal nutritional technologies, to address the challenges facing the industry, and to explore more sustainable solutions for the future of the feed industry. Professor Choct's research exemplifies these efforts" .

Professor Choct will be joined on the day by David Byrne, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection (1999-2004) who will give the keynote speech "Food safety, front and centre: the customer's ultimate concern. Why traceability, both globally and nationally, must become one of any company's mandates". During his term as EU Commissioner, Byrne was instrumental in developing policies on food safety, public health and consumer protection.

Professor Choct will now be among a list of outstanding winners of the Medal of Excellence including: Dr. Charles Maxwell University of Arkansas, USA; Dr. Trevor Smith, University of Guelph, Canada; Dr. Frank Edens, North Carolina State University, USA; Dr. Paul Moughan, Massey University, New Zealand. 

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