Biosun Flavors & Food Ingredients

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Giving Back

Throughout the year Biosun FFI and its employees take the time and money to support a variety of causes around the Tampa Bay Area and the country. Some of our recent personal and monetary contributions included:

IFT Florida Section meetings (Door prizes, scholarship and attendance) – Florida
International Citrus & Beverage Conference – Clearwater Beach, FL
University of Florida – Food Science Alumni Social Hour – National IFT
Hurricane Katrina Fund – New Orleans, LA
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Aid
Desire Street Missions (Danny Wuerffel. Director) – Baton Rouge, LA
American Cancer Society
Big Cat Rescue Organization – Tampa, FL
All Children's Hospital – St. Petersburg, FL
Metropolitan Ministries – Tampa, FL
St. Joseph's Hospital Pet Therapy – Tampa, FL

Employees are encouraged to donate their time and efforts to charitable organizations as well.

Biosun takes upon a responsibility in becoming actively engaged in helping its local community and others nationwide which we determine are most in need of our support. Our employees are very involved in creative volunteering efforts throughout the Tampa Bay area, which Biosun encourages by allowing them to help choose the charitable organizations we eventually support.

Biosun Scholarship Award
To recognize outstanding food technology students who have excelled in their field of study, Biosun has established the Biosun Scholarship Award.

This year, Juan Manuel Cevallos, was chosen by Biosun as the winning recipient of this $500.00 Scholarship Award. The Scholarship Award Ceremony was held at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida on March 26, 2009.

Biosun proudly salutes Mr. Cevallos and his recent academic and professional achievements.

Biography
Juan Manuel Cevallos is a Ph.D. Food Science student and intern for Jose I. Reyes De Corcuera, Ph.D. , stationed at the Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, Florida. Mr. Cevallos has a Bachelor’s degree in Food Engineering from Ecuador, where he was chosen by his university as the most outstanding student in his major and recognized as being in the top 0.5% percent of all students in his academic field.

He originally came to the University of Florida on a Fulbright scholarship, obtaining both a Masters degree in Food Science and a Master of Agribusiness. Juan also has professional experience in quality assurance and in implementing and managing research and development programs.

For his PhD project, Juan is studying the metabolic profile of Citrus Huanglongbing – a disease also know as "greening" and now considered to be the largest threat to Florida citrus – in the hope of discovering a method for rapid, in-field detection of the disease.

Biosun CEO, Mark Messersmith with Dr. Anne Kendall announcing the Biosun Scholarship Award at the University of Florida, March 26, 2009

Mark Messersmith presenting the Biosun Scholarship Award to Juan Manuel Cevallos

More awards and contributions...