Food Protection Trends

COMMENTARY from the Executive Director
January 2006

“Let’s review many of the exciting plans and goals that IAFP projects for the coming year”
By David W. Tharp, IAFP Executive Director

As we begin the year of 2006, I can tell you IAFP has a full agenda of programs and activities. This month, let’s review many of the exciting plans and goals that IAFP projects for the coming year.

First off, as of the first of the year, the Journal of Food Protection has implemented an online review system for submitted manuscripts. This system will enable authors, reviewers, scientific editors and staff to more easily see the progress of submitted papers. It will assist our scientific editors and staff in managing the review process along with allowing faster transfer of papers to editorial board reviewers. The system also allows any user to access the system from any computer linked to the Internet. We hope the convenience of the new, online review system will permit quicker processing of submitted manuscripts as we progress through the year.

Are you are making plans to be with us at IAFP 2006 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada next August? Having just been to Calgary in November to set our planning process in motion, I can tell you Calgary will be a fantastic location for our Annual Meeting! At the base of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the city is inviting, friendly and easy to explore. If time allows, a side trip to Banff and Lake Louise is strongly encouraged. This is one of the most picturesque areas in the entire world — don’t miss seeing it while you have the opportunity!

Our meeting will take place at the Telus Convention Centre and we will use three hotel properties (two attached to the Convention Centre). Just outside the doors is the Stephen Avenue Mall where restaurants, shopping and nightspots line the historic avenue. Oh what fun!

There are a few items worth noting about IAFP 2006. I mentioned we have reserved rooms at three hotels in Calgary. Hotel reservations can be made online through our Web site (click IAFP 2006 under “Meetings and Education”) and by mail or fax (hotel reservation form will be printed in FPT starting in February). We also have revisions to the schedule of activities for 2006 as we attempt to accommodate more and more special events during the time we have to spend together.

One item that exhibitors and attendees have requested for many years is to have lunch available in
the Exhibit Hall. We are pleased to be able to satisfy these requests at IAFP 2006! On Monday and Tuesday, a lunch will be provided in the Exhibit Hall for attendees and exhibitors. We are looking forward to this added social time for all attendees.

You may have noticed that abstracts for IAFP 2006 are due
one month later than in previous years. The deadline for submission is now February 8. This will allow for additional completion of research or subject matter for your abstracts that were sometimes rushed because the due date was shortly after the holiday season. So if you were thinking of making a submission and thought you were out of time, you can now reconsider and submit your abstract prior to February 8 for consideration by the Program Committee.

There are three more projects that I want to make you aware of which we will be working on in the upcoming months. They include preparing for a second European Symposium on Food Safety to be held in October or November of 2006, implementing a Member dues restructure in January of 2007 and joining the Partnership for Food Safety Education. Many IAFP Members already participate with the Partnership so the IAFP Executive Board felt it was natural for the Association to support this effort. We look forward to working with the Partnership in carrying their message to our Members who can in turn, carry the message to consumers!

The Member dues restructure will allow Members an “a la carte” system to pick and choose what they want from IAFP. A base level of dues will entitle Members to a periodic “E-newsletter” from IAFP. Quarterly or monthly newsletters are currently being considered. From there, a Member can choose to receive Food Protection Trends, the Journal of Food Protection or JFP Online individually or they may choose any combination of the three. So the new dues structure makes Membership affordable and much more versatile to our current Members and should help in attracting new Members!

The last item to review with you is the next European Symposium on Food Safety. The Executive Board saw advantages to building on the success of our first European Symposium held last October in Prague. It was felt our experience in Prague was beneficial to the Association in that it attracted a number of people who were not IAFP Members. By bringing together those nonmembers with IAFP Members, the nonmembers were able to learn about IAFP and all that we offer. Our Members are the best sales force for the Association! We look forward to the opportunity to plan our next event for Europe. Please continue to watch this column and FPT for more information on this Symposium as details become available.

So, as you can see, just from this short list of programs and activities, IAFP will have a very busy year. In addition, the Executive Board and staff will hold a long-range, goal setting session in April to map out longer-range plans for IAFP. If you have thoughts or suggestions on IAFP programs and activities, feel free to contact any of the Executive Board Members or me to provide your input.

We thank you for your past support of IAFP and look forward to your continued support. We also hope that you are proud of IAFP and its accomplishments! Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.