Food Protection Trends - July/August 2024 - 258

COMMENTARY
FROM YOUR PRESIDENT | Tim Jackson
" Coming together is a beginning, staying
together is progress, and working together
is success. "
- Henry Ford
Wow! Time flies! It's nearly time for
IAFP 2024 in Long Beach. I'm still riding
on the energy and connection from
attending last year's Annual Meeting in
Toronto; the China International Food
Safety and Quality Conference in Beijing;
IAFP's European Symposium on Food Safety in Geneva, Switzerland, and
the Florida Association for Food Protection's Annual Meeting in Tampa.
Now, it's time for a recharge!
At the recent European Symposium, attendees had an opportunity
to hear about WHO's efforts in global food safety, including its Joint
Evaluation Exercise, a process to assess country capacities to prevent,
detect, and rapidly respond to public health risks from natural, deliberate,
and accidental events. Country self-assessments are currently in progress,
followed by future WHO verification visits. The outcome will identify
developments and gaps in food safety and other public health programs
and opportunities to provide support to countries where needed for the
development of their systems. This is a great example of coming together,
staying together, and working together.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Pasteurized Milk
Ordinance (PMO) in the U.S., which standardized requirements for
the safe production of milk and dairy products. Since IAFP's origin
in 1911, our Members have played an important role in ensuring the
safety of the milk supply, from the early focus on cleanliness in milk
production; inspector qualifications; endorsement of pasteurization as
the adequate safeguard for the milk supply (in 1923); and development
and maintenance of the 3-A Sanitary Standards. Read the summary on
page 297 from IAFP's Dairy Quality and Safety PDG and hear more
about PMO at IAFP 2024. Again, organizations coming together,
staying together, and working together.
2023 marked the 30th anniversary of the Food Code, which provides
a model for best practices to ensure the safe handling of food in a retail
setting. IAFP Members have been an active part of the Conference of
Food Protection, which develops and maintains the code, and can be
adopted or adapted into state standards, providing a reference for safe
harbor conditions for food products.
Both PMO and the Food Code are examples of standards and
guidance developed by industry, government, and academic experts
coming together to set baseline expectations and outline best practices
for food safety in food production. While standards are not always
needed in a risk-based food safety system, practical standards and
guidance can help to set minimum requirements or parameters
necessary for the safety of a food or process and the condition of
acceptance or rejection.
Standards and guidance may be national, regional, product- or
hazard-specific. Standard-setting bodies such as the Codex Alimentarius
Commission and the International Standards Organization work to
identify and develop standards through expert input and consensus.
Guidance development may lead by government or by industry
groups where a need has been identified by risk assessment or the
experience of food safety managers and other experts. The identification,
development, and execution of standards and guidance require expert
input, collaboration, and alignment in their development and execution,
requiring a healthy dose of passion for and commitment to the effort.
Once more - coming together, staying together, and working together.
IAFP represents an important intersection for food safety professionals
from government, industry, and academic sectors. IAFP 2024; the Dubai
International Food Safety Conference and the China International Food
Safety and Quality Conference, both in October; the Latin American
Symposium on Food Safety and INOFOOD 2024, both in November;
and upcoming Affiliate and PDG meetings will all provide opportunities to
come together, stay together, and work together with peers. These meetings
are great forums to discuss underlying risks and relevant controls; identify
where standards or guidance are needed or would be useful; organize
working groups; and report on developments or status of initiatives.
Join us in Long Beach to engage in the PDG meetings, symposia,
and technical sessions. Take the time to review new research in the
poster sessions and meet established and developing scientists. Spend
time in the Exhibit Hall with exhibitors to view solutions that are timetested
or new innovations and share your questions and needs. It's all
about the beginning, the progress, and the success. I look forward to
seeing you there!
FROM YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Lisa K. Garcia
Everything costs more! This is a
common theme we can all relate to in
our professional and personal lives.
At the Executive Board meeting in
May, we reviewed the IAFP Membership
dues structure. Monitoring the
Association's financial stability is very
important to maintaining its long-term
existence. IAFP has not raised dues since
2007- that is 17 years ago! At that time,
they were raised $5.
It is our goal to keep dues affordable for all. So, with some creativity
and lots of number crunching, we came up with a system we are proud
to implement on September 1. This system is based on the World
Bank's classification of countries by gross national income (GNI) per
capita. The four income groups are low, lower-middle, upper-middle,
and high-income.
258 Food Protection Trends July/August
As of September 1, Membership dues will be as follows based on the
country where you live and work:
* High-Income Countries: $80
* Upper-Middle Income Countries: $40
* Lower-Middle Income Countries: $20
* Low-Income Countries: $10
Student rates will be discounted to half the Member rate based on
the country they live.
We are very hopeful that this new system will allow food safety
professionals from around the globe to benefit from the resources IAFP
offers. IAFP is committed to Advancing Food Safety Worldwide!
Food Protection Trends - July/August 2024

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