Food Safety Undersecretary To Update USDA Actions

Newswise — Elsa A. Murano, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for food safety, will address the Institute of Food Technologists' International Food Safety and Quality Conference and Expo here, Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Orange County Convention Center. The conference runs Nov. 5-7, and is designed as a powerful forum for the complete analysis of food safety, and a focused and effective exchange on safety and quality topics.

As leader of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service programming, Undersecretary Murano will provide an update on the Department's food safety initiatives in her address at 11:30 a.m. Within the past 30 days FSIS has announced adaptation of new testing systems for Salmonella contamination in raw meat and poultry, proposed changes in poultry labeling standards, and released data showing a drop in positive samples of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef, among other actions.

Running concurrently to the IFT conference is a two-day exposition featuring exhibits by leading suppliers of instruments, professional services, processing technologies and packaging systems, all designed to protect and ensure food safety and quality. The schedule of events is as follows:

Wednesday, Nov. 58 a.m.-4:30 p.m. - Conference Technical Sessions11:30 a.m. - Keynote Address, Elsa Murano, USDA Undersecretary4:30-7:00 p.m. - Exhibits, Posters and Networking Reception

Thursday, Nov. 68:30-10:30 a.m. - Exhibits, Posters and Networking Breakfast 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. - Conference Technical Sessions1-3 p.m. - Exhibits, Posters and Networking Lunch 3-5 p.m. - Conference Sessions

Friday, Nov. 78 a.m.-12 Noon - Conference Technical Sessions

Technical sessions at the conference will include: Pre-harvest controls"a first step in assuring a safe food supply; New and alternative technologies for microbial control to increase safety and quality; Reaching the consumer with food safety information.

A comprehensive roster of technical session topics and exhibitors registered for the expo is available online at, http://www.iftfoodsafety.com.

Founded in 1939, and with world headquarters in Chicago, the Institute of Food Technologists is a not-for-profit international scientific society with 28,000 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, see http://www.ift.org.