The National Confectioners Association has named the five confectionery industry professionals selected for the 2021 Future Leadership Program, which is dedicated to supporting young professionals across the confectionery industry.

University of Missouri-Columbia student Alan McClure, PMCA’s 2018-2019 grant-in-aid recipient, has completed his research project, “Optimization of Bitterness in Chocolate Through Roasting with Analysis of Related Changes in Important Bitter Compounds.”

The Hershey Co. says it will invest $1.5 million in the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to establish a scholarship endowment, with the goal to increase that to $3 million over the next decade.

As a leading source for training and education, PMCA continues to serve the confectionery and snack industry with new virtual offerings.

The National Confectioners Association’s Young Professionals Network has opened the application for the 2021 class of its Future Leadership Program, which provides professional development resources to young professionals aspiring to leadership roles in the confectionery industry.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Resident Course in Confectionery Technology, also known as “Candy School,” will be held virtually this summer in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In honor of the International Women’s Day this month, Finnish craft chocolate brand Goodio announced it has donated more than $12,000 to the Ubuntu Life Foundation over the course of two years.

Lectures and experimental pilot plant exercises for these courses are presented and supervised by technical experts and the UW Food Science Department.

The American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT) is offering a $5000 scholarship award for the 2020-2021 academic year.

With varying stages of cannabis legalization in the U.S. and Canada — and the proliferation of cannabis-infused edibles in the marketplace — the Professional Manufacturing Confectioners Association recently hosted a science symposium on incorporating cannabis into confectionery and snack products.