Food Protection Trends

COMMENTARY from the Executive Director
July 2008

“What can you expect from IAFP 2008?”

By David W. Tharp, IAFP Executive Director

IAFP 2008 is just a few short weeks away now! Have you registered and made your hotel reservations? We have had great interest in the program this year along with excellent support from our exhibitors and sponsors. Many people come together to make the IAFP Annual Meetings a great success and this year is no exception. Planning begins many years in advance, with the majority of the work taking place in the period six to ten months prior.

Our presenters, both oral and poster presenters, have prepared to deliver the latest scientific research results for your benefit in learning from their experience. Exhibitors have invested heavily, both in time and financially to position their company and products to attract your attention. The Ohio Assoc-iation of Food and Environmental Sanitarians has done a wonderful job of preparing for your arrival in Columbus; so all systems are in place and ready to go!

Many people have asked, “Why Columbus?” We say, “We have an active Ohio Affiliate who wanted us to come to their state!” When looking at three cities in Ohio, we selected Columbus because it fit the needs of our Annual Meeting better than the others. You are going to be surprised by Columbus – there are many restaurants, shops and night-time entertainment areas, all within easy walking distance of the convention site. Besides, Columbus is centrally located in the USA and easy to reach for those driving to the meeting. Columbus also has great airline traffic and connections from all the international hub airports.

What can you expect from IAFP 2008? You can expect to interact with the leading food safety professionals from North America and the world! You can expect to learn the most recent procedures and methods in food science. You can expect to discover the latest technological developments in equipment and products in the IAFP Exhibit Hall. And, you can also expect to enjoy the company of food safety professionals who are interested in the same thing you are – keeping the food supply safe from contamination, thereby protecting the public’s health.

The IAFP Annual Meeting has grown steadily in size and stature. It is now recognized as the leading food safety conference because of the extremely focused topic where we concentrate our efforts. We are interested in all factors leading to a safe food supply, from a science and food safety perspective. We are interested in a safe system of delivering food for public consumption, whether at home, in a restaurant or a café, where the public can eat this food without fear of illness. This system covers the entire spectrum from raw material, to processing (if any) to distribution, storage, cooking, cooling and health issues related to food handling and consumption. Each of these areas are scientifically evaluated and discussed through more than 500 presentations over the three-day conference.

Our preview coverage of IAFP 2008 begins on page 499. The preliminary program can be found on page 504 showing session titles, presentation titles and speaker names. In this month’s issue of Food Protection Trends, we also included a list of exhibitors (page 540) and our sponsors (page 544). We encourage you to thank sponsors and exhibitors, even if you are unable to attend IAFP 2008. The sponsors and exhibitors truly make a huge difference for everyone who attends our meetings! Without their support, many things would be much different at our Annual Meetings.

Sponsors support refreshment breaks, lunches and after-session receptions each day in the Exhibit Hall. This in addition to our conference bags, name badges, and receptions including the Welcome Reception, Opening Night Reception and the President’s Reception. Sponsors help us in countless ways and make it easy for attendees to have time and the right setting for networking with colleagues.

We hope you already have your hotel reservation, your airline ticket and have registered for IAFP 2008. If not, there is still time to act! We look forward to seeing you in Columbus next month.