Ensuring food supply integrity is of the utmost importance in relation to food security, safety and quality, consumer protection and international trade. Control measures throughout the entire food production and supply chain are essential to maintain and assure this integrity. The fundamental purpose of the controls is to support food safety and quality, because both are essential and set the foundation for food security and consumer protection as well as facilitating both domestic and international trade.
The need for methods to monitor and verify food safety and quality is evidenced by the ever growing list of food product recalls due to contamination with, for example, Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Listeria, and incidents such as melamine, antibiotic and dioxin contamination. Food fraud (e.g. the adulteration of beef products with horse meat), the introduction of new technologies with potential food safety implications (e.g. nanotechnology) and environmental factors (e.g. climate change) further highlight the importance of continued refinement, development and innovation to improve food control measures.
Effective techniques are necessary to help assess and manage risks and protect the consumer. These include food irradiation to treat food directly, as well as other nuclear and related technologies for tracing food products in order to verify their provenance, or to detect and control contaminants. Continued research and innovation facilitate ongoing improvements in control strategies and the implementation of effective and efficient ‘farm-to-fork’ safety and quality assurance systems.
This symposium organized by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture will focus on food safety and quality, considering protection of the integrity of the food supply chain as a holistic process. In particular, it will:
• Bring together experts in the field to present contemporary and novel applications, identify gaps and discuss future perspectives and opportunities;
• Provide a forum for interdisciplinary networking between professionals from different backgrounds, including industry, national institutes, academia, and public and private bodies;
• Facilitate a broad understanding of the topics involved; and
• Promote peaceful applications of nuclear technologies.
PLEASE NOTE: the registration process involves nomination through a government or competent authority. Anyone who cannot or does not wish to go through this can contact Dr Andrew Cannavan directly (either by email A.Cannavan@iaea.org or the official symposium email address in the announcement) and he can issue an invitation as an observer. Registration is cost-free.
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