Food Protection Trends - May/June 2018 - 154

COMMENTARY
FROM YOUR PRESIDENT

Mickey E. Parish

Greetings to our worldwide IAFP
family, and a big thank you to all members
who cast a vote in our 2018 election
for Secretary. Our friend and colleague,
Ruth Petran was elected and will begin
serving as Secretary on the IAFP Board
at the end of this year's Annual Meeting
in Salt Lake City. Ruth will rotate
through the various board offices during
the next several years and will serve
as President at the IAFP 2022 Annual Meeting. Congratulations,
Ruth! And since I have received several questions about future
meeting locations, the IAFP Annual Meeting will occur as follows:
2019 in Louisville, Kentucky; 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio, and 2021
in Phoenix, Arizona. We are currently working on getting contracts
signed for the location in 2022, and hope we can announce that
location soon.
The 14th IAFP European Symposium was held in Stockholm
25-27 April, and was a rousing success. There were 21 symposia and
three roundtables covering issues such as whole genome sequencing,
risk assessment for fresh produce, antimicrobial resistance, reference
methods, allergen control, as well as many other timely topics. We
are very grateful to our European members for volunteering their
time and effort each year since 2005 to ensure the success of this
meeting.
There are other international meetings in which IAFP will
be involved during the months ahead. The IAFP Latin American
Symposium on Food Safety will take place 25-27 September in
Buenos Aires, Argentina while the Dubai International Food Safety

FROM YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
It is hard to believe, but it is already
May of 2018! The first one-third of the
year has already passed and soon, IAFP
2018 will take place in Salt Lake City.
Our focus in the office now, is full steam
ahead towards July 8 and the start-up of
our Annual Meeting.
Have you been to Salt Lake City
before? Many people have not and they
are very excited to visit this historic city.
The city dates back to 1847 when the Mormon pioneers settled in
the Salt Lake Valley. Salt Lake City is surrounded by the Great Salt
Lake and mountains; Wasatch Mountains to the east and north,
Oquirrh (pronounced "oaker") Mountains to the south, and the
Great Salt Lake to the west and northwest. We hope you will take
a day or two (or more) while you are at IAFP 2018 to look around
Salt Lake City and the surrounding area. There are so many things
to do and see both in Salt Lake City and within an easy drive
surrounding the city. It is a beautiful city and area that invites
your exploration!
If you really want to experience Utah, you should take time to
drive to the southeast of Salt Lake City and visit Canyonlands and
Arches National Parks. I'm sure you have seen pictures, but the "real
thing" is worth the time and effort to encounter first-hand. Another

154

Food Protection Trends May/June

Conference takes place in October and the China International
Food Safety & Quality meeting will occur in November of this year.
All IAFP Members are encouraged to attend these meetings to learn
about the latest science and policy developments related to food
protection, as well as to network with other food professionals from
around the world.
We are quickly approaching IAFP 2018 in Salt Lake City in
July, and our staff is working diligently to make it another successful
IAFP event. I'm excited about the strong program put together
by the Program Committee on some of the most important
food protection topics of our time. From Agricultural Water and
Antimicrobial Resistance, through Microbiomes and Metagenomics
to Validations and WGS, there will be 1,100 presentations in 68
symposia and 19 roundtables, as well as 136 technical presentations
and 700+ posters for you to learn the very latest science related to
food protection. And this does not include the valuable information
you can gain from the pre-meeting workshops, Professional Development Groups and Committees that meet in association with the
Annual Meeting. Also, members should take advantage of the latest
information presented by more than 200 companies in the Exhibit
Hall about new products, software and technologies that support
the global food protection professional.
Finally, I'd like to again recognize the dedication of our IAFP
staff. Though small in number, the IAFP staff members work
diligently to provide enthusiastic and cheerful service to members
and to ensure the smooth functioning of the organization. To David,
Lisa and others, "thanks" for all you do to support IAFP.

David W. Tharp
option in the area is Yellowstone National Park in western Wyoming.
It is only a six-hour drive to reach Yellowstone and the Grand Teton
National Parks. The western United States has so many unique,
natural areas; we would be remiss if we did not encourage you to
take advantage of the natural beauty of these states.
In this month's issue of Food Protection Trends, you will find the
announcement of Ruth Petran being elected as 2018-2019 IAFP
Secretary. We want to thank Ruth for being willing to stand for
election as well as thanking Doug Marshall, who was not elected.
We know that Doug will continue his active involvement in IAFP
for years to come. And we know that Ruth will serve the IAFP
Membership well in her new role on the Executive Board.
Also in this month's issue, we have announced the Award
Recipients for 2018 (see page 225). Included in this same section
of the issue is a preliminary look at IAFP 2018's program and events.
You may reference this printed information and view the updated
IAFP 2018 information available at the IAFP Web site.
We hope to see you in Salt Lake City this coming July.
In fact, we hope to see you AND a colleague in Salt Lake City.
If you have not invited someone to attend the Annual Meeting,
what are you waiting for? Now is the time to make your plans
to travel to Salt Lake City and attend the leading food safety
conference in the world. See you soon!

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - May/June 2018