Representatives from ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre shared their latest research at the International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting which was held in Louisville, Kentucky, USA from 20th to 24th July 2019.
Along with over 3,800 international food safety professionals from industry, academia and government representing 51 countries, ZERO2FIVE’s Professor David Lloyd, Helen Taylor and Dr Ellen Evans attended and contributed to the conference.
The conference provided attendees with information on current and emerging food safety issues, the latest science, innovative solutions to new and recurring problems, and the opportunity to network with thousands of food safety professionals from around the globe.
On the Sunday, the team from ZERO2FIVE attended Professional Development Group (PDG) meetings, the purpose of which is to promote professional development in specific disciplines or areas of interest to further the IAFP’s goals. Dr Evans, was an invited panellist at the Food Safety Education PDG where she discussed food safety education and training in the UK.
President Tim Jackson officially welcomed attendees to Louisville at IAFP 2019’s opening session on Sunday evening. Fellow Award and Student Travel Scholarship Award recipients were honoured during the session, including Elvina Parlindungan, a PhD student in the Department of Food Science and Technology at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Elvina is studying the effect of stress on a bacteriocin-producing strain of Lactobacillus plantarum to enhance its survival and stability for improved safety and protection in food application. Dr Evans was selected as an IAFP mentor to Ms Parlindungan.
Between Monday and Wednesday, the program featured more than 1,000 presentations including 71 symposia, 22 roundtable sessions, 131 technical presentations, and more than 765 poster presentations. Representatives from 187 companies showcased equipment and the latest innovations in food safety services in the exhibit hall.
The Food and Drink Research Unit from ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre displayed ten research posters at the conference, detailing recent research projects relating to food handler awareness of allergen management systems, listeria contamination in a ready-to-eat manufacturer, supporting food manufacturers to obtain certification, covert observation in the food industry and food safety culture.
These posters can be viewed here: http://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/health/zero2five/research/Pages/conference-contributions.aspx
During the poster sessions and conference’s networking events, there was a great deal of interest in ZERO2FIVE’s research from international academics, industry representatives and government officials. ZERO2FIVE held critical meetings and discussions to facilitate international collaborative projects in the USA, and to plan future publications.
At the conference’s closing night Awards Banquet, Honorary Life Membership was awarded to John Holah from Holchem Laboratories Ltd who is Honorary Professor of Food Safety at ZERO2FIVE. The award recognizes IAFP members for their dedication to the high ideals and objectives of IAFP and for dedicated service to the Association.
The 2020 IAFP conference will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Members of the team are already busy planning research contributions and symposia proposals with international colleagues.
