ILSI Taiwan’s programs on food safety risk science and assessment are designed to help ensure all Taiwanese people have access to safe, nutritious food. To achieve this, the branch fosters public-private sector exchange of ideas on the science underlying current risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication practices, and encourages a multisector exploration of the potential of new risk assessment methods.
The focus of ILSI Taiwan’s 2016 Annual Meeting, held in April, reinforced the branch’s commitment to using the latest science to strengthen the safety of Taiwan’s food supply wherever possible.
More than 300 people from government, academia, industry, and the general public attended the meeting, greatly exceeding participation expectations and demonstrating ILSI Taiwan’s growing reputation within the scientific community.
The keynote speaker was Prof Junshi Chen, chair of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and additional presentations were given by experts from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, the National Health Research Institutes, and several universities. Prof. Kuei-Jung Ni, Institute of Technology Law of National Chiao Tung University, provided a unique perspective on science communication in his presentation “Speaking Law to Scientists” and Dr. Pinpin Lin, National Health Research Institutes, featured ILSI HESI’s RISK21 approach to risk assessment in her presentation on hazard vs. risk.
A summary of the meeting and presentations are available online (in Chinese): ILSI Taiwan Annual Meeting
Prof. Ni’s presentation includes a substantial amount of content in English: Speaking Law to Scientists (PDF)
For more information about ILSI Taiwan’s risk science programs, contact Executive Director Jenny Chang, PhD: jenny@ilsitaiwan.org.
Speaking Science to Journalists?
Within the ILSI network, ILSI Taiwan is a leader in science communication and actively promotes candid, transparent scientific discussion with members of the media. The branch hosts several press conferences each year at which journalists, science and health writers, and food and technology bloggers engage with academic experts on topics relevant to the health of the Taiwanese population.
Concurrent with its Annual Meeting, ILSI Taiwan organized a news conference which, in keeping with the Annual Meeting’s theme, focused on dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in the food supply. Prof. Ching Chang Lee , National Cheng Kung University, presented detailed data on trends in concentrations of dioxin-like compounds in Taiwanese foods by category. Prof. Lee noted that concentration levels were down significantly in most food categories; a trend seen in many countries. However, he also discussed the concern over flat or even slightly increasing concentrations in certain food categories such as grains, fruits and fats/oils.
A complete summary of Prof. Lee’s presentation, a PDF of his slides, and links to news stories generated by the press conference are online (all content in Chinese): Dioxin-like Compounds in the Taiwanese Foods
For more information about ILSI Taiwan’s science communications program, contact Lily Chen: lily@ilsitaiwan.org.
ILSI News | August 2016
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