Third-party food safety auditing

Trained in molecular biology, Dr Powell, Professor of Food Safety at Kansas State University, found that food safety was a discipline where he could meld his interests in science, society and policy - more formally known as risk analysis. Publisher of Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk, electronic newsletters (bites.ksu.edu and barfblog.com) and host of donteatpoop.com, he is also one of the international line-up of dynamic keynote speakers at the upcoming 18th HACCP conference which is being held from 12-16 September 2011 at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland.

The 18th Australian HACCP Conference is the premier discussion forum for all Australian food industry professionals involved in food safety. Each year the conference attracts a loyal following together with a growing number of delegates involved in the development, implementation and maintenance of food safety programs.

Consisting of three days of training workshop sessions followed by a two-day conference, the event features a variety of speakers from Australia and abroad. On the first day of the conference, Dr Powell will be presenting a case study titled: The issues associated with third-party food safety auditing in the USA.

The conference will be chaired by food safety consultant Dr Trish Desmarchelier. She has had more than 30 years’ experience in teaching, conducting research in food safety and working at the interface between science and public health in academia and then CSIRO. She also has a wide interest and accumulated experience in microbial food safety including the epidemiology, ecology and laboratory analysis of foodborne pathogens, assessment of public health risks and approaches to risk management.

Motivational speaker Amanda Gore will kick-start the conference sessions with her presentation on how to change workplace culture. Her perspective-changing presentation will cover managing change, effective leadership, innovation and high-performing team dynamics. Amanda maintains that most of us know what we want to do - we just don’t do it! To stimulate us into action she offers specific strategies to motivate us to approach our lives in new and creative ways.

Other presentation topics at the conference include: emerging food safety chemical hazards; managing food safety risk in the face of natural disasters; case studies: managing food safety in the face of national issues, food safety in primary industry businesses including a discussion on hormones in beef; and understanding due diligence.

Training and workshop sessions will include: developing your sensory evaluation program; food legislation and labelling; pest control management for food processors; and a risk assessment workshop.

The 2011 HACCP awards will be announced at the Conference Dinner and Awards Ceremony which is being held on the Thursday night at the RACV Royal Pines Resort. The awards celebrate nine years of achievements in food safety and provide the food industry with a vehicle to recognise and reward the achievements of those who work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our food supply.

Details at a glance:

The 18th Australian HACCP conference

12-16 September 2011

Workshops: 12-14 September 2011, 9 am - 5 pm

Conference: 15-16 September 2011, 8:30 am - 5 pm

Awards night: 15 September 2011, 7 - 11 pm

Venue: RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland

Organiser: Advancing Food Safety (AFS)

http://www.haccptown.com.au/Australia/html/home.htm