Conference Eyes Global Food Trade, Safety, Security

Newswise — Increases in global trade are impacting nations worldwide, bringing new food products into more markets in greater abundance while also mandating constant monitoring of emerging safety issues. Next month, international food safety specialists will address the areas of greatest concern to the increasingly diverse food supply at the Institute of Food Technologists' Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO® and IFT Food Safety & Quality Conference at New Orleans Morial Convention Center, July 16-20.

On Wednesday, July 20, scientists will focus on quality and safety issues resulting from the boom in food products originating from Southeast Asian countries.

A ten nation association that includes Vietnam and Thailand is home to more than 500 million consumers, and new food additives, dietary supplements and functional foods are emerging there. Likewise, so is increased scrutiny for food contaminants and methods to ensure against foodborne illness, directly affecting exports to the U.S. and elsewhere.

Two days prior, Monday, July 18, the safety and risk assessment of environmental contaminants in seafood now harvested and shipped globally will be scrutinized. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Harvard School of Public Health, and renowned fish safety expert Charles Santerre will lead a review of today's known health benefits of seafood, contaminant testing results, and consumption questions.

Among many other scientific sessions related to international food and safety topics are: Exotic African fruit and vegetable products (Sunday, July 17); Food defense and protection/Detection of poisonous agents (Monday, July 18); Pathogen control (Tuesday, July 19); Food processing in India/Challenges and opportunities (Wednesday, July 20).

Now in its 65th year, IFT Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO® is the world's single largest annual scientific meeting and technical exposition of its kind, regularly registering 20,000 attendees, nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies, and more than 1,000 technical presentations. Rated among the largest shows in America*, the meeting and expo delivers comprehensive, cutting-edge research and opinion from food science-, technology-, marketing- and business-leaders.

In tandem with the IFT Food Safety & Quality Conference, this five-day period is hailed as Food Science and Technology Week.

Much more detailed information is available online at http://www.am-fe.ift.org.

* According to Tradeshow Week® 200 magazine.

Founded in 1939, and with world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the Institute of Food Technologists is a not-for-profit international scientific society with 26,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in industry, academia and government. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues. For more on IFT, see http://www.ift.org.