 Introductions
 Antitrust guidelines
 Updates from the IAFP executive board
 Approval of 2016 meeting minutes
Review of agenda, new business…
 Welcome incoming PDG Chair, Dr. Wilfredo Ocasio and Vice Chair Dr. Barb Ingham
 Planning session proposals for the 2018 meeting
o Your ideas are needed!
Some highlights for the 2017 meeting in Tampa:
 Characterization and Identification of Spoilage-Causing Fungi: A Hands-on Workshop
o Two Days - Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8, 2017
o Organizers/speakers:
 Frank Burns, DuPont Central Research & Development
 David Pincus, bioMerieux, Inc.
 Emilia Rico-Munoz, BCN Research Laboratories, Inc.
 Rob Samson, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre
 Session S04: Developments in Mycotoxin Research: From Methodology to Prevention
o Monday, July 10, 2017: 8:30 AM-12:00 PM, Ballroom C (Tampa Convention Center)
o Organizers/Convenors: Margarita Gomez, Emilia Rico-Munoz, and Frank Burns
o Speakers include:
 Rob Samson, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre
 Ludwig Niessen, Lehrstuhl für Technische Mikrobiologie

 Giancarlo Perrone, Institute of Sciences of Food Production National Research Council
 Naresh Magan, Cranfield University
 Dojin Ryu, University, Idaho and Washington State University
 Emilia Rico-Munoz, BCN Research Laboratories, Inc.
Review of symposia from the 2016 meeting in St. Louis:
 2016 Symposium “Small Scale Fermentations at Retail”
o Organizers: Fred Breidt, Barbara Ingham, and Kevin Smith
o Convenor: Barbara Ingham
o Speakers included:
 Kevin Smith, FDA
 Fred Breidt, USDA/ARS
 Marisa Bunning, Colorado State
 Ben Chapman, North Carolina State
 2016 Symposium “An Overview of Emerging Beverage Process Technologies”
o Organizers: Helen Akinruli, Indaue Mello, Margarita Gomez, and Wilfredo Ocasio
o Convenors: Kathleen Lawlor and Wilfredo Ocasio
o Speakers included:
 Carrie Fersti Covance Laboratories Inc.
 Michael Kempkes , Diversified Technologies Inc.
 Nathan Anderson, FDA
Some symposia/roundtables/workshop Ideas from previous PDG meetings:
 Molecular ecology and metabiotic effects with yeasts and molds in acid/acidified Foods
o Frank Burns (and others?)
 The fungal spore: understanding your enemies!
o Emilia Rico, Margarita Gomez, Florence Wu
 The bacterial spore: Attachment of spores to surfaces, biofilm formation and their effect on equipment clean-ability
o Emilia Rico, Margarita Gomez
 Non-microbial safety of beverage elements: myth busters!
o Sean Leighton, Jena Roberts
 Stinky tofu to watery kimchi, what’s in your fermented food?
o Fred Breidt and Deog Hwan Oh
 Pre- and probiotics: how do they affect physiology and chronic disease?
o Ben Tall
 Using predictive modeling to prevent food spoilage caused by spore-forming microorganisms
o Florence Postollec, Ivan Leguerinel, Margarita Gomez, Emilia Rico

 Establishing science based performance standards: are we there yet?
o Jena Roberts, Margarita Gomez
 High pressure processing – state of the art of application
o Perter Taromina
 Beverage spore-formers: a new look at some old foes and challenges they pose to today’s foods and beverages
o Kathleen Lawlor
 Defined framework for risk-based validation and verification principals
o Jena Roberts
 Food microbial ecology and contamination events viewed through genomic data and cultural hybrids
o Greg Siragusa and Fred Breidt
 Use of ISO standard “Guidelines for conducting challenge-tests” to help in Microbial Risk Assessment
o Sohier Daniele, Yuhuan Chen, Desriac Noemie and Patrice Arbault
 How to predict Bacillus spp. spore recovery taking into account the pH of the sporulation environment, pre-heat treatment, and post-treatment (spore germination and growth)
 Predictive models to identify the pH and temperature that support Alternaria spp. growth and mycotoxin boundaries on tomato based media
 Predicting Byssochlamys ascospores heat-resistance

PLEASE BRING YOUR NEW PROPOSAL IDEAS TO THE MEETING AND HELP SET THE AGENDA FOR THE 2018 MEETING… SEE YOU ALL IN TAMPA!

SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT on development of symposium/roundtable proposals:
1. Proposals for 60 or more sessions will be accepted (roundtables and symposia).
2. Proposals closely related to the previous year’s proposals will not be favorably considered.
3. Consider combining related topics. The program committee has made it pretty clear they will be looking for similar topics among PDG proposals, and if they find them they will accept only one of the similar symposia.
4. Joint presentations with other PDGs are look on favorably.
5. Original ideas related to the Beverage and Acid/Acidified foods PDG mission, but also of general interest to IAFP attendees are encouraged.