Call for Symposia and Roundtables

2024 European Symposium on Food Safety
Tuesday, 30 April - Thursday, 2 May 2024
Geneva, Switzerland

The IAFP European Symposium Organising Committee invites interested individuals to submit a symposium proposal for presentation during the IAFP European Symposium on Food Safety, Tuesday, 30 April - Thursday, 2 May 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Symposium proposals are due Tuesday, 3 October 2023 (no late submissions will be accepted).

Begin a submission to the following:

Instructions and Guidelines:

1. What is a Symposium?

   A symposium is an organized, 1.5-hour session emphasizing a central theme relating to food safety and usually consists of three presenters each giving 30-minute presentations.

   A roundtable is a discussion forum of 4 - 6 panelists that is 90 minutes in length with each panelist giving a 5–minute introduction, followed by time for a discussion (1 hour minimum) that includes audience participation. Panelists should not give presentations.

   Proposals may include a discussion emphasizing a scientific aspect of a common food safety and quality topic, issues of general interest relating to food safety and microbiological quality, a report of recent developments, an update of state-of-the-art methodologies, or a discussion of basic and applied research in a given area. The material covered should include current work and the newest findings. Symposia will be evaluated by the Organising Committee for relevance to current science and to Association members. Proposals may be prepared by individuals, groups of individuals, committees or IAFP Professional Development Groups (PDGs).

2. Proposal Notification

   Organizers will be notified of the status of their proposal by 17 November 2023.

3. Presenters

   The International Association for Food Protection does not routinely reimburse presenters for travel, hotel, or other expenses incurred during the European Symposium on Food Safety. However, presenters who are not IAFP members will receive a complimentary Symposium registration. IAFP members who are also presenters are expected to register and pay to attend the Symposium.

4. Travel Support

   The International Association for Food Protection Foundation has limited funds for travel support of presenters. After final acceptance of the proposal (November 2023), organizers will receive an application form to apply for travel support for presenters. Requests are reviewed on an individual and first-come first-served basis. A maximum of €1000 per session will be available. If requested, support will be provided to a maximum of one presenter per session. Organizers are welcome to seek funding from other sources and the Association will provide recognition for these supporters in our program materials. Organizers are asked to inform the Association if they obtain outside funding.

5. Selection Procedure

   The primary focus of the proposal selection procedure is to provide a balanced educational program for attendees of the IAFP European Symposium on Food Safety. To achieve this goal, proposals may be modified by the Organising Committee during their initial or final review, as appropriate, to prevent overlap of topics among competing sessions. The Organising Committee also reserves the right to suggest alternative speakers and/or topics in an effort to round out the program. During the selection process, only the most relevant and promising proposals will be selected for further development.

6. Guidelines for Tentative Acceptance

   1. Proposals must be pertinent to IAFP members. Priority will be given to proposals that address one or more of the following program areas:
      • Safety and Microbial Quality of Foods (dairy, meat and poultry, seafood, produce, water)
      • Viruses and Parasites, Retail Food Safety, Epidemiology and Public Health
      • Non-microbiology Food Safety Issues (food toxicology, allergens, chemical contaminants)
      • General-applied Food Safety Microbiology (advances in sanitation, laboratory methods, quality assurance, food safety systems)
      • General-food Protection for the Future (risk analysis, emerging pathogens, biotechnology, predictive models, etc.)
      • Developments in Food Safety Education
      • Other pertinent food protection topics may be considered if space is available
   2. In addition to addressing pertinent program areas, proposals accepted for further development should:
      • Be new, emerging and/or address areas not covered in last 2 years
      • If covered in last 2 years, provide new information that warrants another session
   3. Submissions must include:
      • Titles that clearly convey the topics to be covered
      • Topics that are unique to prevent overlap of basic information among speakers
      • Names of suggested speakers from a variety of backgrounds, such as industry, regulatory, academic researchers, or consumer perspective (as appropriate)
      • Suggested speakers who are knowledgeable and good communicators
   4. Special consideration will be given to submissions that:
      • Are directly applicable or provide viable safety options for food manufacturers, including small- to medium-size manufacturers
      • Attract or involve students
   5. Other considerations for selecting proposals for further development:
      • The Organising Committee reserves the right to limit the number of sessions devoted to a single topic area to provide a balanced program.
      • If relevant topics are proposed by more than one submission, the Organising Committee will make the final decision to combine or modify proposals as appropriate to avoid overlap of topics among competing proposals.
      • Due to space and time limitations, only the most relevant and promising proposals will be selected for further development. Again, the Organising Committee will make final decisions regarding symposium breadth and length.
      • Additional sessions may be added at the discretion of the Organising Committee to accommodate emerging issues.

7. Who to Contact

   Tamara Ford
   International Association for Food Protection
   2900 100th Street, Suite 309
   Des Moines, IA 50322, USA
   Phone: +1 515.276.3344
   E-mail: tford@foodprotection.org

   Technical Support

   For help in submitting an abstract online, email Tech Support.