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<< back to the 2001 archive listing << Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation My Perspective, July 2001 IAFP 2001 is just around the corner Summer is here, reminding me that IAFP 2001 is fast approaching. This issue of Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation is the Annual Meeting issue, where you can find details about the exciting sessions and speakers we have scheduled for this year’s meeting. I’m sure there will be lots to keep food safety professionals busy, regardless of where your interests lie. In fact, I expect to hear even more complaints this year about having to make difficult choices among excellent concurrent sessions. Are you involved in the dairy industry? You may be particularly interested in sessions on dairy HACCP, on ensuring the quality and safety of extended shelf-life milk products, and on Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, the most recent "bug" of concern to the dairy industry. Are you more interested in fruits and vegetables? Don’t miss the poster symposium on "Detection and Control of Human Pathogens in Fresh Fruits and Vegetables." And "Organic Foods: Unique Characteristics and Growth Potential" will provide information about organic foods from those actively involved in their production. Now that HACCP has been implemented extensively by the food industry worldwide, many will be interested in how we determine if HACCP is effective; the session "HACCP: How to Evaluate Success" should give us some insight, including perspectives of industry, regulators and consumer groups. Are you interested in the latest thinking on programs to assess and manage foodborne hazards and risks? There are two sessions on "Moving Beyond HACCP — Risk Management and Food Safety Objectives" that will outline an evolving framework for food safety management and show us how public health goals can be converted to criteria that can be used by food producers, processors, distributors, marketers, regulatory agencies and others. Speakers in these sessions will also cover the role of risk assessment in determining risk management options and discuss the concept of "tolerable level of risk" and its significance for international trade. Speaking of risk assessment, there will be a symposium on the "Joint FAO/WHO Initiative on Microbial Risk Assessment" in which international experts will update you on the latest iteration of their risk assessments on Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. And if you are struggling with issues related to control of L. monocytogenes, you won’t want to miss the session on "Zero Tolerance — Boon or Bust" to hear experts consider the "zero tolerance" risk management strategy: Has it been effective? Is it time to move to a new strategy? Many food safety professionals will admit that regulatory agencies and industry are often at odds on issues. "The Benefits of Better Government and Industry Relations in Assuring Food Safety" will discuss how we might enhance public health by a different approach. And IAFP’s Student PDG has put together an excellent symposium on "Communicating Science Effectively," a session that will benefit many of us scientists who need to convey technical material in layman’s terms. I want to draw your attention in particular to two key program events: the General Session and the Ivan Parkin Lecture. The General Session this year focuses on an area that has received increasing attention in the last few years: food irradiation. Food safety professionals have long touted the benefits of this food safety tool. Speakers at the General Session "Irradiation Pasteurization: Realizing the Food Safety Potential" will examine the progress we are making in bringing such foods to the market and how they can have a real impact on reducing foodborne illness. The IAFP "keynote" speech, the Ivan Parkin lecture, will be delivered this year by Dr. Linda Detwiler, from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), who will provide an update on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a topic that has probably been in more news headlines in the last few years than any other food safety issue. Dr. Detwiler is one of the foremost experts in the US on this topic, acting as media spokesperson for APHIS activities regarding BSE and other Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) in national and international arenas. Dr. Detwiler serves on national and international TSE advisory committees and coordinated the development of a national BSE response plan. She will tell you what has been done to prevent BSE from occurring in the US, and what the US would do if a case of BSE should occur in this country. Dr. Detwiler will answer questions you have, like: What is the most likely theory on why BSE developed in the UK? Have we put enough controls in place in the US? Are there risks to public health from non-compliant animal feed production operations? What type of risk of BSE did the imported sheep in Vermont pose? Were the actions taken appropriate or overly precautious? I’m sure you can expect an informative presentation on one of the hottest topics in food safety today. These are just some highlights of what is in store for you at IAFP 2001. But there is much more to the Annual Meeting, not the least of which are the meetings of the PDGs (Professional Development Groups). PDGs promote professional development by bringing together food safety professionals to address topics in specific disciplines and interest areas: e.g., Applied Laboratory Methods, Retail Food Safety and Quality, Microbial Risk Analysis, Viral and Parasitic Foodborne Disease, etc. These groups are key in developing components of the program for next year’s Annual Meeting. Many have long-term projects to develop pamphlets, manuals or Web sites containing information on specific issues of interest to PDG members. Many attendees will come to Minneapolis on Saturday to get a reduced airfare. I encourage you to attend one or more PDG meetings on Sunday. The meetings are open to all – whether you wish to be an active, continuing member or just sit in and listen to the discussion. You do not have to be a member of IAFP to participate in a PDG. I want to also note the many social events – the Sunday night Cheese and Wine Reception, the Monday Night Exhibit Hall Reception followed by the Mississippi River Dinner Cruise, the Minnesota Twins/ Cleveland Indians baseball game on Tuesday, and the IAFP Awards Banquet Wednesday evening. You can also find many excellent restaurants in downtown Minneapolis, take a relaxing stroll down Nicollet Mall, or visit the famous Mall of America to shop every store imaginable. August in Minneapolis should be delightful! So make your plans now to join us in Minneapolis for an informative and lively
meeting – you’ll be sure to learn something new about food safety,
you’ll meet colleagues who will become life-long friends and resources,
and you will have fun as well! |