Line-up for 45th AIFST Conference announced

A world authority on food safety, CSIRO leaders, a maverick politician and a food additive lobbyist: these are some of the speakers at the upcoming 45th Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) Conference.

With a theme of ‘Reap the Rewards’, the conference will be held in Adelaide from 15-18 July.

The convention has six underlying themes:

• Production - safe and sustainable food supply, supply chain excellence, best practice processing
• The consumer - sensory, marketing, packaging
• Fibre and health - biotechnology, gut microbiome, prebiotics and probiotics
• Life cycle foods - microbiology; babies and beyond; global opportunities
• Moo-ving ahead - dairy a day; s**t hits the fan; what’s cookin’ and chillin’
• Practical regulations - national food and nutrition research; development and technology transfer strategy; and IP capture

Several interactive and knowledge-filled workshops have been designed to keep attendees at the forefront of due diligence for their companies, new levels of sensory analysis to take products to the next level and the exclusive Continuing Professional Development workshop for AIFST members, to launch the ‘Career Tools Package’ for development.

Highlights of the conference program include:

• Insights on Food Security: Internationally acclaimed authority on consumer protection and food security, Associate Professor Patrick Wall led the establishment of the Irish Food Safety Authority in response to the BSE crisis. He has chaired the European Food Safety Authority and was part of a select committee advising the Chinese government on food safety for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Professor Wall will share his insights on the challenges of delivering food safety in a global food chain.
• CSIRO Leaders Talk Nutrition: Head of the CSIRO’s Food, Health and Life Science Industries Group Alastair Robertson and Chief of the CSIRO’s Food Nutritional Sciences Professor Martin Cole provide a big-picture analysis of national food and nutrition research development and technology transfer.
• Debate on Food Politics: It’s gloves off in what is expected to be a fiery panel discussion between outspoken Senator with a passion for food labelling Nick Xenophon, the new CEO of the Australian Food and Grocery Council (to be announced) and South Australian Shadow Health Minister Martin Hamilton Smith.
• Avoiding Additives: Sue Dengate runs the Food Intolerance Network and is the bestselling author of the Fed Up series. Sue was nominated for an Australian of the Year Award for her voluntary advocacy and lobbying to raise awareness about food additives and their effects on children’s health, behaviour and learning ability. Sue will talk about the use of safe food additive alternatives and strategies to reduce the use of food additives.
• The Sweet Taste of Success: Three highly successful South Australian food companies - Haigh’s Chocolates, Spring Gully Foods and Vok Beverages - talk about their inspiring journeys and share samples of their products.

International speakers also include Malcolm Bourne, Emeritus Professor of Food Science at Cornell University; Robert Brackett, Vice President and Director of the Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology; Tatsuya Morita, Professor of Nutritional Chemistry at Shizuoka University, Japan; and Markus Link from Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Germany.

Early bird rates apply for registrations before 1 June. To register, visit the AIFST conference website, or for registration enquiries, contact Julie@aifst.com.au.