Food Protection Trends - May/June 2017 - 152

coMMeNtarY
FROM yOuR PReSIDenT

Linda J. Harris

I just returned from the IAFP 13th
European Symposium on Food Safety
in Brussels, Belgium. Many thanks to
the Organizing Committee and the
Local Organizing Committee for their
efforts. The meeting was well attended
by food safety professionals from around
the world. The weather was beautiful
with all the signs of spring in the air and
the conference venue and hotel conveniently located in picturesque central Brussels. The cooperative
weather meant that I could keep my daily "steps" up so that I could
at least partially justify my increased consumption of chocolate and
pastries. The program was a well-balanced combination of general
sessions, concurrent symposia, roundtables, and technical and
poster sessions on topics that ranged from use of whole genome
sequencing to microbial toxins, predictive modeling of spoilage and
shelf life, and food safety culture. Definitely something for everyone. Congratulations also go out to the student awardee Christian
Hertwig from the Technical University of Berlin (Student Travel
Scholarship), Ifigeneia Makariti from the University of Athens
(Poster Award), and Marcia Boura from the University of Reading
(Technical Presentation Award).
I also want to give a special thank you to David Tharp and the
IAFP staff Lisa Hovey, Tamara Ford, and Julie Cattanach, who were
in attendance at the meeting. It is no easy task organizing a meeting
from afar. All four were at the conference center when it opened on
each of the four days (including the pre-conference workshop on
Next Generation Sequencing) and stayed until the last person left
in the afternoon. Behind the scenes they spend their time answering
questions, fixing the unexpected or unanticipated issues, making
sure food and beverage services are on time and accommodate the

various dietary restrictions. And they always do it with a welcoming
smile.
Now that the European meeting is over, the staff will put their
full focus on the upcoming Annual Meeting. The registration is
open and the program is posted, awards committees have met and
selections made. Thanks to the Program Committee for another
exciting Annual Meeting including five pre-conference workshops
and a host of new events including a student-organized three-minute
thesis competition on Sunday afternoon. The venue in Tampa is
exceptionally well laid out for the style of our meeting - it's a short
walking distance among the various session spaces and the exhibit
hall. The waterfront location is ideal for walking (at least in February
when I was there). I am looking forward to seeing many of you there.
Between now and the Annual Meeting I'll be participating in the
8th IAFP Microbial Challenge Testing for Foods Workshop with
co-instructors Don Schaffner and Kathy Glass. Early indications
are that this popular workshop will sell out again - for those of you
travelling to Chicago - I look forward to seeing you there.
Finally, if you haven't checked out the new Web site for the
Journal of Food Protection, please do. We have been working
hard over the past several years to provide new services to
authors and readers of our flagship journal. At the new Web site
"jfoodprotection.org," sign up for customized E-mail alerts, freely
access any article published over 5 years ago (and many more recent
"open access" articles), and view upcoming "issues in progress."
Ultimately, the latter feature will allow access to manuscripts a
couple of months earlier than traditional print and we are excited
to being able to offer this service. Be sure to create a user profile.
Once you have one, click on your name after logging in for access
to additional features such as saved "favorite articles" or searches,
and weekly (or daily if you wish) alerts for new content. We would
love to have your feedback on these new features.

FROM yOuR eXeCuTIVe DIReCTOR

David W. Tharp

As Linda Harris wrote about above,
IAFP's European Symposium on Food
Safety in Brussels recently concluded
for 2017. This was the thirteenth
consecutive year for holding our
European Symposium as it has moved
around the continent. We have been
fortunate to see good attendance at this
conference each year but would like to
see it grow even further in attendance
and exhibitor participation. This year,
350 food safety professionals gathered from March 29 to 31 at The
Square - Brussels Meeting Centre for 21 symposia, 8 technical
sessions 2 roundtables and 87 poster presentations all totaling close
to 200 presentations. Next year's meeting is slated to be held in
Stockholm, Sweden over the dates of April 25 to 27. You can plan
now to join us in Stockholm!
The European meeting has evolved over time as all things do. In
the beginning, we had a loosely organized committee who planned
all aspects of the meeting content. There were always a few strong
individuals who would come through with the content, but as the
meeting grew, so did the need to structure the meeting and the
Organizing Committee. A few years back, we followed the outline
of IAFP's Annual Meeting and went to submitted symposium
proposals with a committee review and group decisions being
made on what topics to include in the program. The Organizing
Committee also reviews all the poster and technical abstracts prior

to them being accepted for presentation. This has strengthened the
program content dramatically.
Making this transition was not so easy, but with the help of five
individuals everything was worked out in time. I want to recognize
past chairs for the European Organizing Committee; Marcel
Zwietering, Christine Harzman, and Patrice Arbault along with our
current chair, Alejandro Amezquita and vice chair Jeanne-Marie
Membre for all of their work in moving the whole committee
process forward. They have helped us to better structure the
Organizing Committee and the work that the Committee performs.
In addition to the Organizing Committee, we have worked
closely in each European city where the meeting has been held with
a Local Organizing Committee. This year in Brussels, we were able
to work with Lilou van Lieshout from ILSI Europe who chaired the
Committee and Mieke Uyttendaele who served as vice chair. It is
always important to have the local direction and to involve speakers
from the "home country" in the Opening and Closing Sessions. The
Local Organizing Committee helps us with these functions.
All of the planning with the meeting facility takes place through
our office. Not only our "onsite staff " that Linda mentioned in her
column are involved each year in this meeting, but everyone in
our small office of 11 staff become involved. I want to thank each
of them for their efforts in making the European Symposium a
success, year after year. Thanks also to our sponsors, exhibitors,
session organizers, speakers and our technical presenters. Without
everyone's help, we could not enjoy the successes we have. We hope
to see you next year in Stockholm!

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