[2] The society's aims are to "provide a meeting ground for persons who are associated with the food industry in any way to enable them to discuss common problems".
[1] The first enrolled member of the society was John Clark Andrews (1903–1966), a New Zealand food scientist, chemist and chancellor of Massey University.
[2] In 2023, the award was won by John Brookes, who established biofilm research at Massey.
[4] The society publishes the magazine Food New Zealand six times per year.
[7][2] Notable fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology include:[8]