Food safety experts to assemble in Dubai

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IAFP’s first symposium in the Middle East could be held in Dubai in 2010.

Specialists and FMCG firms from across the globe will meet at the 4th Dubai International Food Safety Conference.

To be held alongside Gulfood this month, Salah Amiri, assistant director general for General Support Services at Dubai Municipality revealed that speakers at the conference will examine topics including novel food chain intervention, prevention and detection strategies, efficient food safety management systems and educational programmes.

After working closely with the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) to organise the event, "we are looking at the prospect of hosting the IAFP's first symposium in the Middle East in Dubai in 2010," he revealed.

According to Amiri, the conference will provide a forum for education, knowledge transfer and the development of new skills and professional development to all professionals involved in food safety management in the region.

"Though governments play an important part in ensuring food safety, the ultimate responsibility for investing in the physical and managerial resources that are necessary for implementing appropriate controls lies with the food industry," Amiri commented.

Amiri added that the sponsors, including Spinneys, Kraft Foods and Mars GCC, "had taken an extra step in the food safety enhancement programmes in the region by providing the technical expertise and financial support to organise the region's biggest food safety event".

Khalid Mohammed Sharif, director of the Food Control Department at Dubai Municipality said that the conference "aims to offer a long-term commitment to enhancing food safety in the region. We've received a tremendous response from food regulators and the food industry".

High profile speakers will include Professor Steve Hathaway from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; Dr Ezzedine Boutrif, chief of food quality and standards service of FAO; Dr Steve Rizk from Mars Snack Foods, Dr Ahmet Anbarci from Kraft Foods; and Johann Grosz, group leader in quality assurance at Nestlé Research Center (NRC) in Switzerland.

Based in Munich, John Carter, director EEMA Quality, Kraft Foods, said that with product retrieval and traceability, it is important to have contingencies in place with trained teams, an issue that he will discuss in depth at the conference.

"If something does happen, it can be retrieved from the market with minimal impact. It is important to be able to present what world-class practises we have," he added.

Dr Hassan Bayrakdar, corporate regulatory affairs manager for Nestlé Middle East, one of the companies sponsoring the conference, said the conference would provide an opportunity to "contribute our expertise in the field. Through our participation, we would also like to reinforce the role of the industry as true partners to the regulatory authorities in promoting food safety and quality".

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