Detailed Agenda
| Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | Registration | |
| 4:00pm - 7:00pm | Registration Open Registered attendees pick up nametag & program [Coastal Room] |
| Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | First Day of Sessions | |
| 7:30am - 5:00pm | Registration Open [Coastal Room] |
| 7:30am - 8:25am | Light Morning Refreshments [Grand Ballroom] Sponsored by: Vincent Corporation |
| General Session [Island Ballroom] | |
| 8:30am - 8:45am | Welcome and Introductory Remarks |
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- Renée Goodrich Schneider, UF/IFAS FSHN, Program Organizer
- Elizabeth Webb, Peace River Citrus, Program Chair
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| Session 1: The World of Citrus – A Global Perspective | |
| Moderator: José Biot, JBT Marel | |
| 9:00am | The Peruvian Lime Industry - Melanie Cooksey-Stott, Berje, Inc. - Judy Tucci, Berje, Inc. |
| 9:40am | Spanish Citrus Industry – An Update - José Antonio García, AILIMPO |
| 10:20am | Coffee Break [Grand Ballroom] |
| 10:40am | Citrus in South Africa - Lukas Wegener, Nkwaleni Processors – Böcker Group |
| 11:20am | Why “Winning” Beverage Concepts Fail in Market – and What We’re Missing - Dave Lundahl, InsightsNow |
| 12:00pm | Lunch Break (on your own) |
| Session 2: Worldwide Programs, Economics, and Development | |
| Moderator: Jennifer Davis, dsm-firmenich | |
| 1:30pm | Citrus Identity and European Programmes Regarding HLB - Aintzane Esturo, International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association |
| 2:05pm | Exploring Unique Chinese Cultivars for Novel Flavor Development - Shirley Liu, dsm-firmenich |
| 2:40pm | Coffee Break [Grand Ballroom] |
| 3:10pm | Is the Mediterranean a New Citrus Belt? - Joel Longbons, Agrumaria |
| 3:45pm | The Argentine Lemon Industry – An Update - María del Sol Rotman, S.A. Veracruz |
| 4:20pm | Beverage Demand in the Age of GLP-1: Consumer Characteristics, Promotions, and Purchase Behavior - Lisa House, UF/IFAS FRE |
| 4:55pm | Announcements |
| 5:00pm | Session Concludes |
| 5:30pm - 7:00pm | Networking Reception [Outdoor Lawn Reception Area - Weather Permitting] Sponsored by: ADM Advanced Logistics, LLC Ampco Pumps Company Brown International Citromax Group Citrus Oleo Cvista dsm-firmenich Flavor Materials International Florachem Intertrans International Logistics Kerry Limones Piuranos SAC S.A. Veracruz Separator Technology Solutions Trisun Cooperative Society for Preservation of Agricultural Products Ltd. Twente Partners (Latin Lemon) Vicente Trapani S.A. Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH |
| Thursday, September 17, 2026 | |
| 7:30am - 5:00pm | Registration Open [Coastal Room] |
| 7:30am - 8:25am | Light Morning Refreshments [Grand Ballroom] Sponsored by: Givaudan |
| General Session [Island Ballroom] | |
| Session 3: Industry Processing and Technology | |
| Moderator: Keith Schneider, UF/IFAS FSHN | |
| 8:30am | Keeping Things Fresh: An Industry-Focused Future for Juice HACCP - Alexis Hamilton, University of Tennessee – Knoxville |
| 9:05am | Beyond Juice: Enzyme Technology for More Efficient and Circular Citrus Processing - Klaudija Milos, AB Enzymes |
| 9:40am | New Technology for Next Generation Concentrates - Alex Schuermans, CISOL |
| 10:15am | Coffee Break [Grand Ballroom] |
| 10:45am | All Cleaning and Sanitizing in the High-Protein Era - Paul Winniczuk, Chemical Systems |
| 11:20am | Next-Generation Technologies for Viscous Bulk Product Unloading - Gowtham Sundar, AMPCO Pumps |
| 11:55am | Lunch Break (on your own) |
| Session 4: Ingredient and Formulation Innovation | |
| Moderator: Brandy Geiger, Florachem | |
| 1:30pm | A Bright Future: Where Citrus Wins in the GLP-1 Era of Beverage - Colleen Orozco, IFF |
| 2:05pm | Biotech Citrus Ingredients: How Biotech is Complementary to Nature - Joe Syrko, Isobionics |
| 2:40pm | Coffee Break [Grand Ballroom] |
| 3:10pm | A Foundation Amidst Change: Everything’s Better with Citrus - Hélène Moeller, ADM |
| 3:45pm | Beverage Trends in the Restaurant Category - Shane Schaibly, First Watch |
| 4:20pm | Citrus Peel–derived Emulsifier as an Alternative to Gum Arabic in Beverage Applications - Wei Zhao, USDA, ARS |
| 4:55pm | Announcements |
| 5:00pm | Session Concludes |
| 5:30pm - 7:00pm |
Networking Reception [Outdoor Lawn Reception Area - Weather Permitting] Sponsored by: AILIMPO Bucher Unipektin AG Chemical Systems Citrotec International Inc. Elchemy, Inc. IFF Interstate Commodities Corp. JBT Marel Corporation Process Service Specialists, LLC |
| Friday, September 18, 2026 | |
| 7:30am - 10:00am | Registration Open [Coastal Room] |
| 7:45am - 8:30am | Buffet Breakfast [Grand Ballroom] Sponsored by: Bell Chem, A Division of Quadra Safe Chem, Inc. The Coca-Cola Company |
| General Session [Island Ballroom] | |
| Session 5: Hot Topics in the Citrus Industry | |
| Moderator: Sarah Melesse, The Coca-Cola Company | |
| 8:30am | From Grove to Solution: Accelerating Safe, Economically Viable Therapeutic Discovery for Citrus Greening - Robert Shatters, USDA, ARS - Randall Niedz, USDA, ARS |
| 9:10am | The Case for Large-Scale Mandarin Hybrid Planting in Florida - Weston Johnson, The Coca-Cola Company |
| 9:45am | The Grove of the Future - Nelson Wulff, Fundecitrus |
| 10:20am | Finger Limes 101 - Manjul Dutt, UF/IFAS CREC |
| 11:00am | Conference Concludes |
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