Food Protection Trends - November/December 2017 - 447

as Gary Acuff announced the 19 students in
attendance and their respective institutions.
Read more about this year's Student Travel
Scholarship recipients and their experiences
while attending the Annual Meeting, starting
on page 466. One scholarship recipient,
Eugene Niyonzima, was recognized but
unable to attend. Isaac Kabazzi, a 2016
Student Travel Scholarship recipient who was
unable to attend last year's meeting, was in
this year's audience and recognized as well.
Next, plaques were presented to two
recipients of the Travel Award for State or
Provincial Health or Agricultural Department
Employees and three recipients of the
Travel Award for a Food Safety Professional
in a Country with a Developing Economy.
This year's awards, made possible through
contributions to the IAFP Foundation and in
part by Marler Clark, were presented by Past
President Mazzotta as Gary Acuff announced
the recipients and their respective employers.
The Travel Award recipients and their IAFP
2017 experiences can be viewed, starting on
page 464.
Past President Mazzotta remained on
stage while President Harris joined him to
present five Fellow Awards. Those honored for
their long-time contributions to IAFP and its
Affiliates included Judy Greig, Epidemiologist
with the Public Health Agency of Canada,
National Microbiology Laboratory in Guelph,
Ontario; Vijay Juneja, Lead Scientist of a
research project on Predictive Microbiology
at the Eastern Regional Research Center at
the USDA Agricultural Research Center in
Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania; Dale Grinstead,
Senior Food Safety Technology Fellow in the
Sealed Air Core Research & Development
group in Racine, Wisconsin; Jeffrey Kornacki,
President and Senior Technical Director
of Kornacki Microbiology Solutions Inc. in
Madison, Wisconsin; and Don Schaffner,
Distinguished Professor and Extension
Specialist in Food Science at Rutgers
University - The State University of New
Jersey in New Brunswick.
Upon completion of the awards
presentations, a special tribute was paid to
Dr. Dave Theno, long-time IAFP Member and
renowned food scientist, who was frequently
called upon by the industry for his expertise
during foodborne illness outbreaks. Dr. Theno
passed away suddenly in June, and to honor
his memory and legacy, Michael Taylor, with
the Meridian Institute in Washington, D.C.,
was joined onstage by Dr. Theno's family
members for a touching look back at the life
of a pioneer in establishing life-saving food
safety standards. The food safety industry will
be forever grateful to him for helping set new
standards for leadership and management
in food production and safety throughout his
career.

President-Elect Mickey Parish then
introduced this year's Ivan Parkin Lecturer, Dr.
Jose Emilio Esteban, Executive Associate for
Laboratory Services for the Food Safety and
Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Esteban
entertained the audience with his presentation,
"The Anthropologist, the Chef, and the Kitchen
Sink," sharing his humorous perspectives of
an anthropologist and a chef, both addressing
the same goal to have enough food, feed, and
fuel to sustain an ever-growing (and aging)
population. (A summary of Dr. Esteban's
presentation can be found on page 460.)
President Harris gave closing remarks before
inviting audience members to attend the
Cheese and Wine Reception in the Exhibit Hall
(generously sponsored by Mars with cheese
provided by Land O'Lakes, Inc.).
On Monday, attendees submersed
themselves into the first of three full days
of food safety sessions and presentations,
carefully selected by the 2017 Program
Committee, led by Chair Alvin Lee and Vice
Chair Renee Boyer. Congratulations and thank
you to this dedicated team of experienced
food safety experts who combined efforts
and talents to select only the highest-quality
programs offering informative and timely
topics! Based on the feedback received,
attendees had many positive comments
regarding the content and selection of topics.
IAFP also thanks those companies who
generously sponsored food and beverages for
many of the events and breaks throughout the
meeting, providing the necessary fuel to allow
attendees to participate in as many sessions
as possible.
Monday's agenda also included the
special presentation, "U.S. Regulatory Update
on Food Safety," an ongoing session from
the past two years. Presentations were
delivered by Carmen Rottenberg, recently
appointed Acting Deputy Under Secretary
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Office for Food Safety, and Dr. Stephen
Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and
Veterinary Medicine with the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration. Both provided updates
on implementations and regulations from their
respective agency, followed by a Q&A session
with audience members.
Attendees once again had the opportunity
to engage in this year's "Explore the Floor"
event, competing for one of several fabulous
prizes by visiting participating exhibitor booths
to complete the required number of 'stops
and stamps.' This activity in the Exhibit Hall
provides an increase of face-to-face interaction
with those visiting the exhibit booths for more
information. Congratulations to the following
participants whose names were drawn on
Tuesday afternoon from all entries: Samet
Ozturk (iPad); Amechi Okereke (iWatch);
Mikayla Goodman ($100); Melissa Hays

November/December Food Protection Trends

447
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - November/December 2017
