Fred Wilbur Tanner (1888–1957) was an American

food scientist Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

and

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

who involved in the founding of the

Institute of Food Technologists The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from ...

(IFT) and the creation of the

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

'' Food Research'' (now the ''

Journal of Food Science The ''Journal of Food Science'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1936 and is published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the Institute of Food Technologists in Chicago, Illinois. From 1996 to 2005, it was ranked eighth ...

'' (''JFS'').).

Academic career

Tanner joined at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

in 1923, where he was chair of the

Bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

Department (no
Department of Microbiology
until 1948. His work focused on

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

issues, specifically

pasteurization In food processing, pasteurization (American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), also pasteurisation) is a process of food preservation in which packaged foods (e.g., milk and fruit juices) are treated wi ...

and

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

curing. Tanner remained as professor until his retirement in 1956. Tanner's research in

food science Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

would also lead to the establishment of the

food technology Food technology is a branch of food science that addresses the production, preservation, quality control and research and development of food products. It may also be understood as the science of ensuring that a society is food secure and ha ...

department at Illinois in 1947.

Role with IFT

Tanner was a presenter at a 1937 conference with

Samuel Cate Prescott Samuel Cate Prescott (April 5, 1872 – March 19, 1962) was an American food scientist and microbiologist who was involved in the development of food safety, food science, public health, and industrial microbiology. Early life Prescott was born i ...

of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) held at MIT on "Microorganisms in Relation to Food Processing." A year earlier, Tanner founded the scientific journal ''Food Research'', now ''JFS.'', where he would remain as Editor-In-Chief until 1951. He served as IFT President in 1945-46 and would win the

Stephen M. Babcock Stephen Moulton Babcock (22 October 1843 – 2 July 1931) was an American agricultural chemist. He is best known for developing the Babcock test, used to determine butterfat content in milk and cheese processing, and for the single-grain experi ...

Award (now

Babcock-Hart Award The Babcock-Hart Award has been awarded since 1948 by the Institute of Food Technologists. It is given for significant contributions in food technology that resulted in public health through some aspects of nutrition. It was first named the Steph ...

) in 1952.

Death and legacy

Tanner died in 1957. The IF
Chicago Section
would establish the Fred W. Tanner Lectureship in 1960 that is held every May. This lectureship is given by leaders in the food industry. Tanner was also posthumously awarded the

Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the last of which wa ...

Award and honorary medallion in 1959.

Selected works

*Prescott, S.C. and F.W. Tanner. (1938). "Microbiology in Relation to Food Preservation." ''Food Research.'' 3(3): 189-97. *Tanner, F.W. and G.I. Wallace. (1925). "Relation of Temperature to the Growth of Thermophilic Bacteria." ''Journal of Bacteriology.'' 10(5): 421-437.

References

*Goldblith, S.A. (1993). ''Pioneers in Food Science, Volume 1: Samuel Cate Prescott — M.I.T. Dean and Pioneer Food Technologist.'' Trumball, CT: Food & Nutrition Press, Inc. pp. 101, 184.

External links

Early history of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at UIUC
- Accessed January 18, 2007.
Fred W. Tanner papers at the UIUC Library
- Accessed January 15, 2007.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Fred W. 1888 births 1959 deaths American food scientists American microbiologists People from Champaign, Illinois University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty