ILSI 2022 Annual Meeting Session 7: Food safety challenges and opportunities in a post-Covid world

Mr. Geoffry Smith, Chairman of the Essential Micronutrients Foundation, Singapore

Mr. Geoffry Smith is President of the ILSI Southeast Asia Region based in Singapore, branch co-representative to the global ILSI Assembly, and past Member of the Executive Committee of the global ILSI Board. He is the Chairman of the Essential Micronutrients Foundation, a non-profit organization which addresses micronutrient deficiencies globally as a public health issue. In addition, he’s Director of Nutrition Strategies International, which deals with food and nutrition issues in developing countries. Author of a number of papers on nutrition and dietary issues, he serves as a member of the editorial board of the journal Food and Nutrition Bulletin.

Prior to his current positions, Mr. Smith was the Global Director, Health Chelates for AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals, and directed the global business for these compounds in food and nutrition, as well as pharmaceutical applications. He was responsible for the global project within AkzoNobel addressing iron deficiency anemia. He is a thirty-year veteran of the chemical industry in Asia-Pacific and globally, and has resided in Singapore for more than 25 years. He is a member of the Nutrition Society of the UK, the American Society of Nutrition and the American Chemical Society. He is the editor of the ILSI Nano Alert newsletter on nanotechnology in food and agriculture.

One health and one water: surface water as potential reservoir of zoonotic pathogens – Dr. Jianghong Meng, Director of the Joint Institute for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), and Professor at Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

Abstract: One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach to achieve optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Many of zoonotic pathogens are capable of surviving for extended periods of time in the soils, waters and sediments in the environment while maintaining their ability to contaminate fresh produce and cause illness in humans. Likely sources of pre-harvest contamination include irrigation waters; water used for the topical application of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides; and runoff water from livestock operations into the produce fields. A better understanding of the ecology, distribution, and persistence of these pathogens in the environment is paramount to gaining greater insight into the sources and mechanisms of microbial contamination. Whole genome sequencing and other genomics technologies offer a great tool to study the transmission of zoonotic pathogens.

Jianghong Meng, Director, Joint Institute for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) and Center for Food Safety and Security Systems (CFS³); and Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Meng is also a Fellow of American Academy of Microbiology. His research focuses on microbial food safety from farm to table. He applies genomics tools to study the transmission of foodborne pathogens including source identification and tracking.

Cybersecurity and the role of the food safety manager – Dr. John W. Spink, Assistant Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management in the Business College at Michigan State University, USA

Abstract: Cybersecurity is one of the hottest and most urgent industry-wide topics. The activity is expanding from IT groups to front line operations. When starting to review a new topic, it is important to review the basics, foundation and then the key focus for efficient and effective implementation.

Cybersecurity – and higher-level information technology and computer science – is not in the usual area of expertise for food safety managers. Trying to make uniform decisions is not only unwise but can be dangerous to the point of putting the entire company at risk. This presentation will present a high-level overview of “cybersecurity” background and best practices, and then present “the role of the food safety manager.” This work is based on works created within the author's responsibilities teaching undergraduate college level supply chain management.

Dr. John W. Spink is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management in the Business College at Michigan State University. His teaching responsibilities include “Introduction to Supply Chain Management” and “Introduction to Procurement.” Those responsibilities include researching emerging topics, such as cybersecurity and the role of the supply chain or food safety manager. More broadly, Dr. Spink is a recognized thought leader in Food Fraud Prevention (www.FoodFraudPrevention.com).

#foodfraud #CybersecurityFoodSafety

Sensing bacteria and bacterial sensing – Dr. Ariel Furst, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering at MIT, USA

Abstract: Electrochemistry is an exceptionally powerful tool to monitor and quantify biological interactions. Using the inherent function of bacteria, we can either directly sense them or use them to detect targets. In one example, by harnessing the inherent activity of bacteria, we have developed a sensitive platform to detect pathogenic E. coli from complex matrices. In a second, distinct example, we have used the inherent function of bacteria to degrade environmental contaminants and detect the degradation products. Taken together, this work demonstrates the specificity and selectivity that can be achieved from combining electrochemical readout with inherent biological function.

Ariel L. Furst is the Raymond (1921) & Helen St. Laurent Career Development Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. She received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. She then completed her Ph.D. in the lab of Prof. Jacqueline K. Barton at the California Institute of Technology developing new cancer diagnostic strategies based on DNA charge transport. She was an A. O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Prof. Matthew Francis at UC, Berkeley developing sensors to monitor environmental pollutants. Currently, her lab combines biological, chemical, and materials engineering to solve challenges in human health and environmental sustainability. She is passionate about STEM outreach and increasing participation of underrepresented groups in engineering.