LONE STAR PERSPECTIVE
January 2008

“One of the best qualities of IAFP membership is that the Association is focused on food protection"
by Gary Acuff, IAFP President        

L evelland, Texas. That’s where I grew up. Likely, you have already gathered from the name that it is not a mountainous place. In fact, if you are reading this on a table top, you are viewing a fairly accurate model of the typical Levelland terrain. It is very flat and obviously not one of the garden spots of the world, but it does have its positive aspects. For example, some of the best sunsets you’ll ever see are in that part of the country—that’s because there are very few of those pesky trees to get in the way of the view. And the people there are nice—there is really not much to do there but be nice. Well, I am just a few lines into this article and already side-tracked. What I intended to write about was one of my friends in Levelland. Actually, I want to talk about his mother. In junior high he mentioned to me once that his mother was a very cautious driver and would not turn left. Seriously, she would not turn left. And we are talking about Levelland—there is not a lot of traffic to deal with in Levelland. Anyway, I didn’t really believe him and didn’t think much about it again until I rode home from school with him one day. Sure enough, his mother drove right past the intersection where I expected her to turn left and proceeded one more block. Then after three right turns, she was heading the right direction. How ridiculous, I thought. I couldn’t imagine anyone being that paranoid. Of course, that line of thinking apparently comes naturally for teenagers, as I have discovered
in my attempt to raise two. Later in life, I have remembered this story and thought I was wrong to be so hasty in my conclusion that my friend’s mom was being too cautious. She got where she wanted to go, and she did it her way—and felt very confident and comfortable in the way she did it.

What does this story have to do with IAFP? Several things. I think one of the aspects I like most about being a member of IAFP and attending the Annual Meeting is getting to meet people who are working in the same area of research that interests me. There are opportunities to read about their research in the Journal of Food Protection , talk to them at poster sessions at Annual Meetings, and hear them speak in symposia. But what I really enjoy is getting a chance to talk with them one-on-one in a casual setting (maybe at one of the many evening receptions) to discuss their findings and their methodology. Here’s the best part: many times I find someone who works in a research area almost identical to mine but who has utilized a completely different methodology and experimental design. A confirmation of results obtained in my laboratory from a different lab using different method s always initiates a great discussion. In other words, it may look to me like they made three right turns to get where they were going, but we ended up with similar results.

One of the best qualities of IAFP membership is that the Association is focused on food protection. Members are interested in food safety research from all parts of the globe, different points of view, multiple methodologies—whether you use a left turn or a “three-right-turn” process to get your research results, you can find someone in IAFP who is interested and someone who wants to discuss your views and philosophy. The IAFP mission statement is to provide food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply . That means there are people in IAFP who are interested in what you do—regardless of whether you work in an academic, industry or regulatory position. The exchange of scientific knowledge, ideas and philosophy are at the heart of IAFP membership, and I can’t imagine how one progresses in this field without the intellectual assistance and discussion of colleagues with similar goals and objectives.

The Annual Meeting is a great place to exchange ideas, meet new colleagues, hear about cutting-edge research, and find out what is of concern and interest to others in the field of food protection. If you are like me, your summer schedule fills up quickly, and it is important to lock in dates on your calendar before it is too late. Let me encourage you now to make plans to attend the Annual Meeting this year in Columbus, Ohio. The IAFP staff and local Ohio affiliate have been working for quite a while now preparing for the 2008 meeting. Did you know that Columbus is the 15th largest city in the US? It is centrally located, which will make transportation easy, and I think you will find that the hotel rooms are going to be very reasonably priced this year. The city has outstanding convention facilities with a wide variety of restaurants close by for evening gatherings with colleagues. Basically, Columbus is going to provide a great setting for our meeting, and if you bring your family along there will be plenty of activities for them as well—from first class shopping to outstanding golf courses and the world famous Columbus Zoo. You won’t want to miss this opportunity.

So if you catch yourself thinking that nobody is interested in your research or your point-of-view, that’s where you would be wrong. Come to the meeting and see for yourself. I guarantee you will not want to miss another meeting and it will become part of your annual summer schedule.

Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for IAFP or the Annual Meeting. I value your feedback—even if you don’t like to turn left.