IAFP Holds Successful Fifth European Symposium on Food Safety
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The International Association for Food Protection, in collaboration with ILSI Europe and the World Health Organization hosted IAFP's Fifth European Symposium: Advancements in Food Safety. The Symposium was held 7-9 October 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Two-hundred and fifteen attendees, from 27 countries participated.
The meeting began with two workshops hosted by ComBase and ILSI Europe. The symposium provided insights from experts within industry, academia and government from both Europe and North America on recent advancements in food safety.
Sessions included: Cronobacter (Enterobacter sakazakii); Methods and Method Validation; Salmonella and Low-moisture Foods; Chemical Contaminants in Foods; Roundtable - Dealing with Global Regulations, The Listeria Case; Food Packaging Safety and Emerging Issues; Water Quality and Its Relation to Food Quality and Safety; Novel Processing Technologies and Food Safety; Prepared but Not Ready-to-Eat Foods; and Allergens in Food. In total, there were 35 presentations.
In addition to the sessions, 73 posters were presented. Twenty companies or organizations provided current food safety products and information through their stands in the exhibit room. The exhibitors and sponsors were: 3M Deutschland GmbH, AES CHEMUNEX, bioMérieux, Bio-Rad Laboratories, BIOTECON Diagnostics GmbH, ConGen, DuPont Qualicon, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), ILSI Europe, International Food Hygiene, LGC Standards, MATRIX Microscience Ltd., Medical Wire, Neogen Europe Ltd., Oxoid, R-Biopharm, Romer Labs Disgnostic GmbH, Silliker, Inc., Society for Applied Microbiology, Springer, and the World Health Organization.
Attendees networked during coffee breaks, lunches and a Wednesday evening reception; all held in the exhibit area and poster session area. An evening event, hosted by bioMérieux Industry provided opportunity for casual networking with colleagues from around the world.
IAFP thanks the Organizing Committee, chaired by Dr. Michele Storrs and Dr. Pratima R. Jasti, for their effort in making the symposium a success. A special thank you to the sponsoring organizations for their support of the symposium. It is through this support that IAFP is able to develop its international involvement and expand our international network of food safety professionals. We look forward to continuing IAFP's European presence with a sixth symposium in spring 2010.
For more information on IAFP's Fifth European Symposium, please contact the Association office at + 1 800.369.6337; + 1 515.276.3344; fax: + 1 515.276.8655, E-mail: info@foodprotection.org; or Web site: www.foodprotection.org.
About International Association for Food Protection
The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) represents more than 4,500 food safety professionals committed to Advancing Food Safety Worldwide®. The association includes educators, government officials, microbiologists, food industry executives and quality control professionals who are involved in all aspects of growing, storing, transporting, processing and preparing all types of foods. Working together, IAFP members, representing more than 70 countries, help the association achieve its mission through networking, educational programs, journals, career opportunities and numerous other resources.
