The opening session was the Ivan Parkin Lecture delivered by Dr. Lawrence D. Goodridge, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Dr. Goodridge concluded his talk with a “call to action for food safety professionals, educators, and communicators to take a positive stance against misinformation and disinformation … [in order to ensure] a safer and more informed society on the topic of food safety and science in general.”
Our own Deb Smith, Vikan’s global hygiene specialist, was one of the instructors of a successful pre-workshop on dry sanitation strategies, which was also offered at last year’s conference. The workshop included hands-on opportunities to try various dry sanitation tools and methods, including dry vapor steam, vacuums, dry ice blasting, manual cleaning, and chemical sanitizers. In addition, Deb was also a session presenter for the symposium titled: “Dry Cleaning and Sanitation in Dry Low-Moisture Environments” where she provided an industry perspective on dry sanitation solutions.
Additionally, Remco Environmental Health and Sanitation Manager Amit M. Kheradia delivered a technical presentation on insights into 18 years of FDA inspectional observations data related to equipment and environmental sanitation issues and included key learnings and recommendations derived from the study.
Remco and Vikan also had a booth where we showcased our services and products, especially HyGo, Vikan’s revolutionary mobile cleaning station, as well as our newer tools for the food industry, such as the Dough Cutter, One-Piece Pipe Brush, and Heavy-Duty Push Brooms.
More information is available at Remco and Vikan at IAFP 2024 (remcoproducts.com).
This year, there was a significant uptick in interesting and relevant sessions. One poster study by Michigan State University on “Electrostatic Powder Coating Inoculation Methodology for Dry Sanitation Experimentation” revealed that: “Brush-cleaning reduced Salmonella populations on stainless steel surfaces by ~ 1.5 log.” This translates to at least 97.5% microbial removal from surfaces if a proper hygienically designed tool is used. The tool should be easy to clean and sanitize.
Other selected key sessions related to food safety, hygiene, and sanitation issues were on:
- Dry sanitation for low-moisture environments
- Elements of an allergen control program and the new global CODEX recommendations
- Cronobacter control, especially in powdered infant formula processing sites
- Evaluating the recontamination risks in food manufacturing facilities
- Sanitation in food retail establishments
- Listeria monocytogenes control in dairy products such as ice cream and cheese
- Communicating complex scientific data related to food safety
- Sanitation program development for small- and medium-sized food processors
- Food safety regulatory considerations for key sectors, e.g., pet food, fresh produce
The IAFP 2024 program book is available at: iafp-2024-program-book.pdf (foodprotection.org)
From the US food safety regulations perspective, here are some of the key updates:
- FSIS is continuing the initiative that was started in 2021 and has proposed a new policy that aims to reduce Salmonella in raw poultry products. Dr. Jose Emilio Esteban, Undersecretary for Food Safety at the USDA, also provided further insights into pre-harvest, in-plant, and product delivery contamination control processes and labeling initiatives undertaken by the agency to protect public health. More information is available at the FSIS website.
- FDA’s first deputy commissioner of the newly formed Human Foods Program (HFP), Jim Jones, announced that HFP activities and operations will become official starting 1, 2024. According to the agency, under HFP, one single leader reports directly to the FDA Commissioner, as this “unifies and elevates the program while removing redundancies, enabling the agency to oversee human food in a more effective and efficient way.” More information is available on the FDA’s website.
Towards the end of the conference, there was the awards banquet. Last year, our own Deb Smith received the IAFP Sanitarian of the Year award, sponsored by EcoLab. This year, the prestigious award went to Neil Bogart, President of Bogart Food Safety and Sanitation Associates, Inc. The most coveted IAFP award is the Black Pearl Award, which is presented to a deserving company in recognition of its “outstanding achievement in corporate excellence in food safety and quality.” This year, it was awarded to Walmart, Inc.
The closing remarks at the John H. Silliker Lecture were given by Robert Brackett, Senior Vice President and Dean of the Institute of Environmental Health (IEH) Academy, who aptly cautioned current and future generations of food safety professionals to not forget the foundational basics (in microbiology, chemistry, toxicology, etc.) when looking to adopt newer and advanced technologies within their sectors.
The 2025 IAFP conference will be held at the Huntington Convention Center in Ohio from July 27 -30th.
About IAFP
The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) is a member-based association of more than 4,500 food safety professionals committed to Advancing Food Safety Worldwide® by providing food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply. More information is available at: https://www.foodprotection.org/.
