Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013 - (Page 288)

COMMENTARY FROM YOUR PRESIDENT Donald W. Schaffner I wrote this, my first president’s column, while at the IAFP Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina and after my return home. I want to use this column to tell you a little bit about my perceptions regarding the annual meeting and the state of the Association. By all indications we had a record-breaking Annual Meeting. here are a few facts to support that conclusion: We sold a record number of exhibitor booths, and our total number of exhibitors was higher than ever. We also set a record for the number of annual meeting attendees. The Annual Meeting program Committee had twice as many symposium submissions as we had room to accommodate in the program. We formed three new professional development groups (pdgs) this year as well. i attended the “hACCp utilization and food safety systems” kick off pdg meeting, and it was standing room only! The pdg meetings i attended were packed with members who were engaged and excited about the upcoming meeting, and the next year’s worth of pdg activities. Every FROM YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Having just completed IAFP 2013 in Charlotte, I think it is appropriate we review some of the “numbers” attained. There were more than 2,800 attendees, which constituted a new record and an 11% increase over IAFP 2012 in Providence. We also saw a large increase in exhibitors this year as we grew from 172 10’ x 10’ spaces in 2012 to 187 in 2013 or about a 9% increase in total exhibit space taken. We also increased in meeting content with more than 800 presentations through symposia, roundtables, technical presentations and poster presentations. With this growth, it becomes more difficult to plan and project what iAfp’s Annual Meeting may look like in the coming years. for the next two years (2014 and 2015), we had to renegotiate our contracts with the convention centers to obtain additional meeting and exhibit space for our meeting. We also added additional hotel rooms to accommodate our increased housing needs. But doing so does not come without some risk that our attendance will not sustain the numbers we currently experienced. so, as stated, it is difficult to project the coming Annual Meetings’ needs. for sure, i want you to know, we are happy to have this problem versus the problem of a declining attendance! it seems that iAfp, with increasing attendance and participation, is in the minority of meetings. We like being here! We always survey meeting attendees looking for input where iAfp can improve the experience for those participating. Most of the time, comments received are 288 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2013 technical, symposium or roundtable session that i visited was well attended, and several were standing room only. When Food Protection Trends Editor david golden decided to step down, we had an astounding 20+ applicants apply for the position! i’m pleased to say that the FPT Editor selection subcommittee worked quickly to select Cathy Cutter as our new FPT editor. When Journal of Food Protection Editor John sofos had to unexpectedly go on an extended medical leave, the other three editors, Mike davidson, Joe frank, and Elliott Ryser all stepped up to shoulder the extra load. Those of you who know me, know that i’m a bit of a geek, so i can’t help but talk about technology. When i surveyed annual meeting attendees regarding adoption of our annual meeting app (available for iphone and android), i found a very high-level of awareness and adoption. Those of you who have a bit of the geek gene yourselves might be interested to note that i dictated 90% of this column using siri on my iphone and dragon dictate on my Mac. it’s going to be a great year. i’m looking forward to sharing it with all of you. David W. Tharp very similar to those received in prior years. Examples include: lines are long at the lunches (that will happen with more than 2,000 people eating in a short time), tables are scarce (going forward, our exhibition space can accommodate an increased number of tables), meeting rooms are crowded (meeting room size will also increase in the future years) among other input. You probably get the idea from these examples. Even though there are many “repeat” comments, please know that we do learn a lot from the survey and the input is very valuable. for instance, in past surveys we had requests for Wifi internet service, a meeting “app” and lunch served on Wednesday. You may know that both of these services were added in 2012 and continued this year in Charlotte. The Wifi keeps people connected with their offices and colleagues. The app helps lighten your load as you may not even need the program Book (i had a number of people tell me they were using the app exclusively this year). lunch on Wednesday helps keep our group together, provides a quick meal where attendees may continue their collaborations and conversations. We do look forward to the input received and we take your comments seriously. By most every measure, iAfp 2013 was a great success. There are many people to thank including speakers, convenors, organizers, sponsors, exhibitors, student volunteers, volunteers from the Carolinas Association for food protection, the convention center staff and of course, the iAfp staff. pictures and a summary of iAfp 2013 will be presented in the November / december issue of Food Protection Trends so be sure to watch for the next issue. We hope that you will be able to join us next year in indianapolis for iAfp 2014!

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013

Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013
Commentary
Norovirus Attachment: Implications for Food Safety
A Successful Approach to Salmonella Surveillance: Using Student Interviewers to Improve Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response in New York City
Use of Surface Water in the Production of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Survey of Fresh Produce Growers and Their Water Management Practices
Im Gloving It!
FSMA: Article 5
General Interest Paper
PDG Highlight
Beyond the Bio
Industry Products
Coming Events

Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013