Food Protection Trends - August 2009 - 486

from the executive director “COMMENTARY” T his is always an odd time to write a column for Food Protection Trends. By the time you read this, IAFP 2009 will be completed but I am writing this column just days before IAFP 2009 begins. So, from the reader’s perspective, I feel compelled to tell you about the outcome of the Annual Meeting, but since it did not yet begin, that is very hard to do! I can tell you that our expectations for a very successful meeting are met with registration numbers, hotel reservations, exhibitor sign up and sponsorship dollars all tracking extremely well against prior year’s statistics. This is especially encouraging for the current economic conditions for the world. With the comparisons we follow, it is sure to be a wellattended conference. The projected attendance at IAFP 2009 is just another indicator of how impor tant face-to-face meetings continue to be. We expect more than 10% of our attendance will come to the meeting from outside of North America. Even with Internet forums, Listserv news, blogs, podcasts, wikis, instant messaging and so many other ways to communicate important information; the IAFP Annual Meeting continues to be a force in bringing food safety leaders together, face-to-face. Not only does IAFP bring food safety leaders together at its Annual Meeting, but now we have two additional meetings each year outside of the North American continent. For 2009, this includes our European Symposium on Food Safety and the Asia Pacific Symposium on Food Safety. Program detail for both symposia are available on the IAFP Web site. Dates and locations for these meetings are as follows: • European Symposium on Food Safety will be held from 7–9 October in Berlin, Germany By DAVID W. THARP, CAE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “Now we have two additional meetings each year outside of the North American continent” offers an even stronger program in 2009. The Asia Pacific Symposium is considered our International meeting and moves from continent to continent or region to region. Last year’s symposium was held in Brazil. There are two other opportunities for IAFP Members to participate in meetings outside of North America. They are the China International Food Safety and Quality Conference and Expo (CIFSQ) and the Dubai International Food Safety Conference (DIFSC). IAFP has aligned with the organizers of both of these conferences to assist with speaker invitations, program content and encouraging company sponsorships and exhibiting. We have found both to be well organized and very well received by those in attendance. Upcoming dates for these conferences are as follows: • CIFSQ will be held September 23–24, 2009 in Beijing, China • DIFSC will be held February 22–24, 2010 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates If you have the opportunity, we encourage your attendance at either of these exceptional conferences. So as you can easily see, IAFP continues to expand by providing opportunities for IAFP Members and food safety professionals to come together, face-to-face, to discuss important topics to keep the world’s food supply as safe as can be. When it is possible, come to one of our meetings. We look forward to welcoming you, wherever it is around this world of ours! You might ask, “how did IAFP 2009 turn out?” We can’t tell you results right now, but if you check your August IAFP Repor t or the Web site, you will find details there. Otherwise, we will fill you in next month in this column. One thing is for sure, it was a HOT TIME in Texas in July! • Asia Pacific Symposium on Food Safety will be held from 11–13 November in Seoul, Korea Our hope is for IAFP Members and other food safety professionals who are unable to journey to the IAFP Annual Meeting, that they might be able to come to a meeting organized by IAFP in a region closer to their home. The European Symposium has seen nice growth over the years and 486 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | AUGUST 2009

Food Protection Trends - August 2009

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