Food safety conference highlights precision testing

15-Jul-2013 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 11:19 GMT

Putting precision testing and traceability firmly in the context of food safety are two key themes of Food Manufacture’s one-day Food Safety conference, suggested by its chairman Professor Colin Dennis.

“We want to cover as many bases regarding food safety as we possibly can,” said Dennis, who will chair the conference at the National Motorcycle Museum, close to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre on October 17.

“While we are able to analyse smaller and smaller amounts of contaminating chemicals, we don’t understand how to interpret small amounts of material in the food chain – especially with dilution issues when products are formulated,” said Dennis.

Sudan one

The classic example was contamination with the colouring agent sudan one, which – although not a food safety challenge – was important from the legal and fraud perspective, he added.

Also, horsemeat had raised important questions about food traceability, said Dennis, a former president of the Institute of Food Science & Technology and a former director general of Campden BRI.

Taking part in the conference will be:

Andrew Rhodes, director of operations at the Food Standards Agency, who will put food safety challenges into a regulatory framework.

David Brackston, technical director of the British Retail Consortium, who will offer a retailer perspective.

Sue Davies, chief policy adviser with consumer champion Which?, who will explain consumers’ long-term reaction to food safety challenges and how confidence in the supply chain can be rebuilt.

Mark Woolfe, authenticity expert, who will give an insight into food fraud.

René Crevel, Unilever’s science leader for allergy and immunology, who will outline the latest thinking on allergen controls and action levels.

John Searle, Intertek, who will explain how the ability to detect lower and lower levels of contaminants makes more companies vulnerable to potential product recalls.

David Edwards, NSF International, who will advise on creating a strong food safety culture at work, with hazard analysis critical control points at its core.

Dominic Watkins, legal expert with business law firm DWF, who will share news of firms that have handled product recalls well and the costly consequences for those that did not.

Professor Tony Hines, Leatherhead Food Research’s head of food security, who will advise on crisis management.

Patrik Sjöberg, Infor, who will cover the latest traceability systems so you can stay one step ahead of the next recall.

Professor Robert Newman, Wolverhampton University, who will explain how technologies, such as radio frequency identification, can be used to identify and to trace food information across Europe from producer to consumer.

Details of our early bird ticket price offer can be found here.

Alternatively, telephone Ellie Ray on 01293 610279 or email ryyvr.enl@jeoz.pbz.