Arkansas Association for Food Protection Conference Set This Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Association for Food Protection will hold its fifth annual conference this week at the Chancellor Hotel in Fayetteville. The proceedings will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The conference agenda and registration information are posted at http://arkafp.org/conferences.aspx.  

The AAFP is an affiliate of the International Association for Food Protection that includes academic personnel in food safety from the University of Arkansas and food safety professionals from industry and government.

Several U of A graduate students will participate in a research poster competition supported by industry sponsors.

This year's conference will explore emerging issues and research such as:

• Education and training of veterinarians about the nuances of food processing. The training will insure the best inspection capabilities as they apply to the needs of systems thinking for veterinarians and inspectors.  
• Pathogen tracking and epidemiology as it applies to whole-chain traceability. 
• Emerging issues in fruits and vegetables.
• Retail food safety.
• New research in foodborne pathogen tracking in the environment.
• Global Food Safety Initiative implementation – concepts and issues.
• New research on foodborne Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Listeria, E.coli & Campylobacter.