Webinar Archive

Active IAFP Members can use our search below to find past webinars held by IAFP and IAFP’s Professional Development Groups (PDGs). Please note that all opinions and statements are those of the individual making the presentations and not necessarily the opinion or view of IAFP.

World Food Safety Day will be celebrated on June 7, 2023 to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks. IAFP is proud to support this effort and provide free access to our full webinar archive for the month of June.

Archived Webinars

  • Matrix Additions to Rapid Pathogen Detection Methods- Part 1: Assuring the Right Fit May 31, 2023

    The food safety industry is rapidly evolving to address the new regulatory requirements set forth by the Food Safety Modernization Act. End-users, such as food manufacturers and third-party laboratories, must ensure that analytical methods, designed to detect hazards, are fit-for-purpose for their specific commodities. Most commonly used pathogen detection methods have undergone rigorous validation through third-party certification bodies such as AOAC, AFNOR, MicroVal, and others. This creates a list of officially validated matrices limited to the foods and method parameters outlined in the study. This often falls far short of what is seen routinely during end-user testing. Matrix evaluation studies are used to extend the method scope to a new matrix or test portion size. Here, we provide guidance on alternate evaluation approaches using a food-similarity grouping and a risk-based questionnaire to help end-users determine an appropriate level of evaluation for their method of choice.

    Learning Objectives

    1. Understand the gap(s) in the scope of validation for rapid pathogen detection methods.
    2. Learn how to perform a risk assessment for method performance.
    3. Learn how to group food matrices based on intrinsic properties.
    4. Learn how to select an enrichment condition for a matrix evaluation study.

    Presenters
    • Gabriela Lopez Velasco, Speaker Neogen Food Safety
    • Patrick Bird, Speaker bioMerieux
    • Takiyah Ball, Moderator Sargento
  • Introduction to Toxicology Part II: New Methodologies: Application in Food Safety and International Trade  May 16, 2023

    Organized by: IAFP's The International Food Protection Issues PDG

    Part Two of a Two-Part Series: New Methodologies: Application in Food Safety and International Trade
    Producing safe food requires attention to several aspects of the food during production, harvesting, processing, and distribution. Factors such as microbiological, allergen, foreign material, and chemical management are important parts of the overall food safety picture. With the current interest in toxic elements/heavy metals in infant formula and other foods, as well as the increasing interest in micro and nano plastics in food and the environment, a series of webinars has been created to provide overviews of the major principles of food toxicology; a review of already existing or newly developed methods and how these methods are applied to food toxicology; case studies of relevance to the food safety professional; as well as highlighting available resources.
    This second webinar aims to provide a brief review of newly developed methods and discuss how they are and/or can be applied to food toxicology relevant to food safety and international trade.

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    Presenters
    • Suzanne Fitzpatrick, presenter U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    • José Vicente Tarazona Lafarga, Presenter PARC
    • Marianne Solomotis, Moderator U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Steven Hermansky, Moderator DABT
  • Is it a Listeria sensu stricto or sensu lato species? Why understanding the difference is important May 8, 2023

    Organized by: The Applied Laboratory Methods PDG and Merieux NutriSciences

    The Listeria genus has rapidly expanded since 2009 from six to 28 species. Comparative characterization of Listeria clearly indicated the existence of two distinct groups that are now formally known as the Listeria (i) sensu stricto, and (ii) sensu lato. The Listeria sensu stricto consists of L. monocytogenes (LM) and the species that indicate a potential for LM contamination; this group now contains 10 species. The Listeria sensu lato, which initially only included L. grayi, has now grown to 18 species. Arguably, all of the Listeria sensu lato species are divergent enough from the Listeria sensu stricto to warrant reclassification as separate genera. Therefore, when a Listeria spp. detection method is reported to “not detect all species”, it is important to evaluate if it is a sensu stricto or a sensu lato that is not detected as this distinction has different implications for food safety.

    Learning Objectives:
    -Review why genomics data supports a re-organization of Listeria and that only the Listeria sensu stricto species should be classified as a Listeria
    -Clarify the expectations for detecting all Listeria spp. using the currently available rapid detection and identification methods.
    -Understand the FDA's perspective on detecting the new Listeria species

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    Presenters
    • Martin Wiedmann, Presenter Cornell University
    • Yi Chen, Presenter Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Catharine Carlin, Presenter Merieux NutriSciences
    • Sarita Raengpradub, Moderator Merieux NutriSciences