S71 Advancing Food Safety Internationally through the Use of Innovative Technologies:  Food Irradiation

Wednesday, July 12, 2017: 1:30 PM-3:30 PM
Room 13-14 (Tampa Convention Center)
Primary Contact: Christine Bruhn
Organizers: Christine Bruhn , Yaohua Feng and Anthony Flood
Convenors: Anthony Flood and Christine Bruhn
Food irradiation is a promising food safety technology that can eliminate disease-causing microorganisms in food. The 2016 announcement of Canada’s intention to approve irradiation of ground beef plus the growing use of irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment for fruits suggests that the barriers to use of this technology might be lowering. This symposium will provide an international perspective on food irradiation by summarizing the recent policy, research, and marketplace activities.

The first speaker, Robert Tauxe from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will provide an overview of the use of novel technologies, including irradiation, to reduce the frequency of foodborne illness. Next, Martin Duplessis from Health Canada will describe the potential advance in food safety that irradiation of beef could provide. He will provide an overview of the data that lead to the proposal to permit irradiated ground beef in the marketplace. Ronald Eustice, Food Irradiation Newsletter, will provide an overview of the growing national and international marketplace presence of irradiated meat and produce. Yaohua (Betty) Feng, University of California, Davis, will present messages that work in the marketplace based upon her research and Wegmans supermarket experience as relayed by Kathleen O’Donnell.

The session is designed to facilitate a dialogue informed by an overview of the current international policy and consumer research on food irradiation and will focus on advancing food safety innovative technologies to the next level, while ensuring that appropriate educational messages are developed for consumers and industry stakeholders.

Presentations

2:00 PM
Health Canada’s Review and Proposal to Permit Irradiated Ground Beef in the Marketplace
Martin Duplessis, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Health Canada
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