The Food Safety Summit South Africa, held virtually on 8-9 June 2021, in honour of World Food Safety Day, proved to be another successful and informative event. True to the maxim that “food safety is everybody’s business”, the event co-hosts, Food Focus and Anelich Consulting, composed a programme that covered an array of multifaceted topics relevant across the food chain.

Delegates were given access to cutting-edge presentations from almost 20 local and international doctors, professors, and food safety professionals from a multitude of sectors and specialties. Moderated by Professor Lucia Anelich with co-host Adele Krogh, the topics included food safety hazards, water safety, foodborne pathogens in fresh produce, Listeria monocytogenes, mycotoxins, allergens, Campylobacter, food safety culture, FSSC22000 v5.1, Global G.A.P, food fraud, environmental monitoring programmes and water reuse in food manufacturing.

Each day featured a round table session, which proved particularly popular with the delegates. Day one included an insightful product verification round table, focusing on testing trends and new technologies, with experts from Anelich Consulting, SA Grain Lab, Mérieux NutriSciences, NMISA, MLS and Anatech. Day two featured a retail round table, targeting the future of food safety systems. This dynamic session included presenters from Massmart, Food Lover’s Market, Woolworths, SPAR and Pick 'n Pay.

The event also included a legal discussion with well-known food lawyers, Janusz Luterek from South Africa, and Bill Marler from Marler Clark USA (also the platinum sponsor for the event). Rounding off the two-day summit was a well-received address from Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for food policy and response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

With some delegates already indicating their plans to attend the 2022 event, it seems that this food safety event hit the right spot in furthering the agenda of safe food now for a healthy tomorrow, the organizers reported.

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