16th Australian HACCP Conference - Sydney 2009

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Report: 15th Australian HACCP Conference and Allergen Bureau Conference

Over 220 delegates attended the 15 th Australian HACCP Conference in Adelaide from 9 th – 10 th September, run in conjunction with the Allergen Bureau Conference the following day.

This year’s HACCP conference took a more global perspective on food safety issues, and included a number of high profile international speakers. In particular Dr Trevor Suslow from the University of California at Davis, USA, discussed the controls implemented resulting from the recent E coli 0157:H7 outbreaks in USA, while Ray Ellard from the Irish Food Safety Authority provided a practical (and humorous) analysis of the implementation of food safety regulations across the EU.

Blas Borde-Lecona from the Basque Health Department in Spain provided a case study on food safety controls in the production of Iberian ham, and Karen Betts, Compliance Manager with BRC in UK, updated us on the changes to the BRC global food standard. Carol Barnao from NZFSA discussed the recently implemented NZ imported foods program.

Not to be outdone by their international colleagues, a wide array of local speakers also contributed considerably to the debate. Dr Tom Ross from University of Tasmania presented the current research on risk management of Listeria monocytogenes, Dr Julian Cox from the University of NSW speculated on the possibility of salmonella-free production systems for poultry, and Dr Robert Premier (formerly DPI Vic, now Snapfresh) covered validation studies for sanitising wash steps in processed vegetables.

Paula Fitzgerald from Agrifood Awareness and Dr Paul Brent, Chief Scientist with FSANZ, discussed GMO’s from both an industry perspective, and Marion Bray (Coles), Karen Robinson (McDonalds) and Fritz Meyer (McCormicks) considered supplier performance criteria.

Product recall was presented by Jeanette Cowden (Woolworths) from a retailer perspective, and Fiona Fleming (GWF) from a manufacturers viewpoint, and Wayne Hammermeister and Jane Downie from Silliker discussed shelf-life validation and verification of HACCP plans.

Finally Dr Daryl Stevens from Arris provided a case study on water management in the horticultural industry, Martin Clark discussed the Freshtest program for fresh produce testing, and Louis Petrin (Arrow Scientific) and Simon Kirkman (Foss) provided an update on test methods and equipment. Ross Peters (AFS) provided further stimulation by debating the impact of caffeine on human health.

The Allergen Bureau Conference on Day 3 attracted a similar audience and included a number of high profile industry speakers including Fiona Fleming (GWF and the Allergen Bureau), Margaret Cole (Woolworths), Neil McSkimming (Coles), Jason Fry (Bartter), Patricia Verhoeven (Cerebos) and Glen Drew (Mars).

Maria Said from Anaphylaxis Australia set the scene for the conference, and Dr William Smith from Royal Adelaide Hospital provided a case study on emerging allergens. Robin Sherlock from FACTA discussed the use of the VITAL tool, and Dr Tom Lewis outlined the achievements and future directions of the Allergen Bureau

Photos from the event:

Trade Display

Thank you to the 2008 Conference Exhibitors

• bioMerieux Australia
• HACCP Cleaning Australia
• Merck
• NCS International
• Silliker Australia
• Arrow Scientific
• AsureQuality
• SAI Global
• Roxset
• SGS
• Agrifood Technology
• Biolab
• Foss Pacific
• Icon Global Link
• Altro
• Medvet
• Oxoid Australia

HACCP Awards

Congratuations to the winners of the 2008 HACCP Awards and thank you to everyone who nominated.

Click here for further information.