IAFP’s European Symposium on Food Safety 2017
Brussels, Belgium
2017-03-29 – 2017-03-31
BACKGROUND
Since 2005, International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) European symposium has been shaping the future of food safety by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas with colleagues from across Europe working in industry, government and academia. The Symposium is an excellent forum to gain knowledge about the latest developments and techniques in food science and safety. The symposium was held 29-31 March 2017 in Brussels, Belgium at the Square.
ILSI Europe, via it’s Microbiological Food Safety Task Force, has been Chairing the Local Organising Committee for the symposium, with this we have organised a great opening and closing session with mainly local speakers and organised a great evening social event in Brussels.
SESSION: ‘How to Exploit Omics Data on Pathogen Behaviour in Microbiological Risk Assessment: An Update on the Current Research’ Presenting Results from 2016 Workshop on Next Generation MRA
29 March 2016, 15.30-17.00
WORKSHOP OUTCOMES
In this symposium ILSI Europe presented the main outcomes of the workshop, including the points of view of the academia and the industry, and we took further the discussion related to how to best use omics data in MRA. Following the technological advancements in the field of the nucleic acids sequencing and the possibility to obtain a large number of sequences (millions) from the microorganisms present in a single sample without the need of their cultivation, new opportunities have become available in terms of data production and exploitation in the field of microbiological risk assessment (MRA).
More specifically, the behavior of foodborne pathogens, deciphered with transcriptomic, proteomic and/or metabolomics techniques, during the whole food chain and in response to specific stresses can now be studied. The current challenge scientists are facing is the integration of such data into risk assessment schemes.
PROGRAMME
Chairs – Prof. Luca Cocolin (University of Turin, IT), Prof. Marcel Zwietering (University of Wageningen, NL)
Co-Organiser – Ms Lilou van Lieshout (ILSI Europe, BE)
The Use of Metagenomics in Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment (QMRA)
Dr Kalliopi Rantsiou (University of Turin, IT)
The Use of Omics in Exposure Assessment
Dr Heidy den Besten (University of Wageningen, NL) & Dr Jeanne-Marie Membré (INRA, FR)
The Use of Omics in Hazard Characterisation
Prof. Marcel Zwietering (University of Wageningen, NL)
SESSION: ‘Foodborne Viruses: Detection, Risk Assessment and Control Options in Food Processing’
30 March 2017, 13.30-15.00
BACKGROUND
Foodborne viruses are recognised among the top rated food safety priorities in a very recent report of risk assessment experts on the identification of food safety priorities using the Delphi technique (Rowe and Bolger, 2016) and have become over the past few years a greater concern to the food industry. All parties agree that control measures for viruses throughout the food chain are required; however, much still needs to be understood with regard to the effectiveness of these controls and how to properly validate their performance, whether it is the personal hygiene of food handlers, the effects of processing on foods at risk or the interpret and action on a positive test result in a virus testing program (EFSA, 2011 and FSA, 2015).
OBJECTIVES
In this session, ILSI Europe will present the current work of an ILSI Europe expert group that provides a description of foodborne viruses, their characteristics and responses to stress, as well as a critical discussion on the technologies developed for their detection and control. We will discuss the way forward on the applications for science and industry. The recommendations in the current work will allow industry to perform effective control options for viruses in food processing. We present the current state of the science on epidemiology, public health burden, risk assessment and management options for viruses in food processing environments and draw practical conclusions.
PROGRAMME
Chair – Ms Lilou van Lieshout (ILSI Europe, BE)
Pro’s and Con’s of Methods of Detection for Viruses in Foods
Dr Alvin Lee (Institute of Food Safety and Health, US)
Translating Risk Assessment of Foodborne Viruses into Practice
Ms Elissavet Gkogka (Arla Foods, DK)
Effect of Processing Technologies to Control Viruses in Foods
Dr Sophie Zuber (Nestlé, CH)
CONTACT
For more information on this event, please contact Ms Lilou van Lieshout, Scientific Project Manager.