Welcome to the spectacular Pacific Rim, the global dynamo incorporating all places around the edge of the magnificent Pacific Ocean. This welcome includes the Pacific Basin, specifically the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At 64.1 million square miles (165.2 million square kilometers) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean covers 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's landmass combined. Extending approximately 9,600 miles (15,500 kilometers) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S, the Pacific Ocean reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 12,300 miles (19,800 kilometers) from Indonesia to the coast of Columbia – halfway across the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon. It’s old news that the Pacific Ocean is a continual hotbed of overseas shipping, including food and ingredients bound for myriad of destinations and imports coming in. The 45-some Rim nations are home to no less than 29 of the world's 50 busiest container shipping ports. Given the magnitude of the Pacific Rim and the diversity of its citizens, its food production and commerce, it is fitting to address some of the food safety issues specific to the region, including those that impact its many trading partners. Catering to anyone involved with and/or interested in food safety issues relative to the Pacific Rim, this symposium showcases science-based food safety management initiatives and collaborations among dynamic Pacific Rim supply chain stakeholders.

Presentations