Food Protection Trends - September 2008 - 648

from your president s I write my first column, I want to convey to you how honored I am to serve as your President for the coming year and how seriously I take the responsibilities of this position. The International Association for Food Protection is widely acknowledged as the premier food safety organization in the world. This recognition was not quickly or easily achieved. How did we get to where we are today and what can we as an organization and I as your President do to continue to strengthen our organization? The steady leadership, hard work, and continuity provided by our Executive Director David Tharp and the eleven talented members of the Des Moines office staff have been and will continue to be critical to the success of the organization. The extraordinary leadership of past members of the Executive Board must also be acknowledged. I want to acknowledge the dedication and service of past Board members and those who I have had the honor and pleasure of working with for the past three years. In particular, I want to recognize the talent and vision of Jeff Farber, Frank Yiannas, and last year’s President, Gary Acuff. I can only hope to represent the organization as well and accomplish as much as they did in their terms as President. I also must acknowledge you, the members of IAFP. The over 3,200 members, from at least 50 countries, are the true strength of the organization. To achieve the stated mission of IAFP “to provide food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply,” the “perspectives” A By STAN BAILEy PRESIDENT “The International Association for Food Protection is widely acknowledged as the premier food safety organization in the world” IAFP Constitution and Bylaws require that there be equal representation from Academia, Government and Industry on the Executive Board and on all committees. This balanced approach is, in my opinion, one of the key strengths of the organization. As I begin my year as President, I have a unique perspective on these three professional areas that contribute to food safety. I am an Adjunct Graduate Faculty Member at the University of Georgia and Kansas State University. In January of 2008, I retired from the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service after 34 years of service as a senior research scientist. I then joined private industry as the Director of Scientific Affairs for bioMérieux Industry. Actively participating in each sector has allowed me to experience the challenges that each face and the strengths that each bring to IAFP. One of the first things we talk about in new officer orientation is that as Board members, we must make decisions that are for the good for all of IAFP, not just our University, Agency, or Company. Fortunately for IAFP, many of the best from each sector have been willing to donate their time and talents and vision to the organization in order to move food safety forward both in the United States and around the world. The combination of extraordinary staff and dedicated and visionary Board members have been responsible for the growth and stature that IAFP has achieved. I pledge to do my best in my year as President to continue this tradition. What are our challenges and how will we continue to grow and improve? I will address many of these areas in my columns in the coming months. This month I want to focus on the International aspect of IAFP. Our name has long identified us as an International organization, but it is only in recent years that we have actively worked to make IAFP truly inclusive for the whole world. The global nature of today’s food supply will require food safety knowledge and training to be shared around the world. What better forum than IAFP? 648 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | SEPTEMBER 2008

Food Protection Trends - September 2008

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