Food Microbiology Archives

Cleaning in Low-Moisture Food Facilities and Practical Applications of a Novel Dry Cleaning and Sanitation Agent

IAFNS at Advances in Food & Beverage Testing 2026

IAFNS at IAFP 2026

IAFNS Food Microbiology Committee and IAFNS Food Chemical Safety Committee are organizing the following three sessions at the International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting in 2026 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Balancing Innovation and Consumer Expectations: Aligning Food Safety and Building Trust Roundtable

Monday, July 27, 8:30-10:00 am CT.

For food safety professionals, the convergence of sustainability goals and shifting consumer expectations requires proactive adaptation of hazard analyses, verification methods, and communication approaches to address these changes. This roundtable will provide an interactive forum to explore emerging risks, share perspectives, and identify strategies to build trust while advancing food safety.

Speakers:

Jason Jacobs, M.Jur., Beechnut

Meredith Carothers, MPH, USDA FSIS

Ben Chapman, PhD, NC State

Sam Alcaine, PhD, IDFA

Mark Moorman, PhD, FDA

Food Safety Management in Fermented Food Production

Wednesday, July 29, 1:30-3:30 pm CT.

This session will open with an overview of fermentation processes and food safety risks, identifying data gaps and priority concerns. Subsequent talks will address commodity-specific issues in fermented vegetables, dairy and plant-based analogs, and fermented meats. Presentations will examine validation and shelf-life studies, corrective actions when processes fail, and case studies that highlight both problems and solutions. With an applied science perspective, this session will provide actionable strategies and practical pathways for improved risk management in the expanding world of traditionally fermented products.

Speakers:

Maria Marco, PhD, UC Davis

David Bean, PhD, Federation University Australia

Jennifer Wages, PhD, Tyson Foods

Sam Alcaine, PhD, IDFA

Food Chemical Safety Assessment: How & Why

Tuesday, July 28, 2:30-3:30 pm CT.

Concerns about the safety of food ingredients have heightened, such as seen with FDA action and US State Legislative activities on food and color additives. Food additives and ingredients must undergo a stringent food chemical safety assessment before being allowed on the market. The Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) pathway for regulatory acceptance has been under increasing scrutiny in the public and private sectors. A rarely known fact is that the GRAS pathway requires the same food chemical safety assessment process as the FDA would undertake for a Food Additive or Color Additive Petition. This session will lead off with an introduction to the basic principles of food toxicology, insights into the FDA’s Food Chemical Safety programs, and a practical presentation on how a GRAS determination is performed.

Moderator: Paul Hanlon, PhD, Abbott Nutrition

Speakers:

Craig Llewelyn, PhD, J.S. Held LLC

Norb Kaminski, PhD, Michigan State University

Kristi Muldoon Jacobs, PhD, Director, Office of Premarket Additive Safety, FDA

For more information about the conference, click here.

Role of Hazard Assessments in Risk-Based Testing

IAFNS at Food Safety Consortium Conference

The 2025 Food Safety Consortium event will focus on the convergence of policy, science, and best practices. With the conference being held near Washington, D.C., this year will place a renewed emphasis on policy discussions, reflecting the growing need to address regulatory and legislative issues. The program will also prioritize the sharing of best practices, offering attendees the chance to learn from one another and engage in collaborative problem-solving.

IAFNS will be presenting a talk:

From Kibble to Crackers: Cross-Learning on Pathogens in Low-Moisture Foods

For more information on registering for the Food Safety Consortium Conference, click here.

Food Formulation and Processing – The Intersection with Microbial Food Safety

IAFP 2025

The IAFNS Food Microbiology Committee presented:

Symposium- Spores...Let's “B. cereus"

Symposium- Uncharted Territory: The Importance of Genomic Surveys of Foodborne Pathogens from Uncommon Environments

The IAFNS Food & Chemical Safety Committee presented:

Myth Busting - Safety of Food Additives and Ingredients

Monday, July 28 from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Speakers:

Myths and Realities of Food Ingredient Safety, Dr. Craig Llewellyn - Principal Scientist, Exponent.
Challenges & Approaches for Ensuring Safety of Existing Food Ingredients & Constituents, Dr. Norbert Kaminski - Michigan State University.
Association versus Causation, Myths and Realities, Dr. Dominik Alexander - President and Principal Epidemiologist, MetaMethod.

IAFNS is also participating in the following roundtable discussion:

Trusted Data Sharing: Collective Learning for Food Safety Insights

For more information on the IAFP 2025 Annual Meeting, click here

Roundtable on Establishing Clean Breaks- Hygienic Separation of Production in Low Water Activity Foods

Symposium on Dry Cleaning and Sanitation in Dry, Low Moisture Environments

The Food Chemical Safety Committee is presenting:

Symposium on Grounding the Discussion on Toxic Elements in Food: Updates from Production to Regulation

For more information on the IAFP 2024 Annual Meeting, click here.

Events

Cleaning in Low-Moisture Food Facilities and Practical Applications of a Novel Dry Cleaning and Sanitation Agent

IAFNS at Advances in Food & Beverage Testing 2026

IAFNS at IAFP 2026

Balancing Innovation and Consumer Expectations: Aligning Food Safety and Building Trust Roundtable

Food Safety Management in Fermented Food Production

Food Chemical Safety Assessment: How & Why

Role of Hazard Assessments in Risk-Based Testing

IAFNS at Food Safety Consortium Conference

Food Formulation and Processing – The Intersection with Microbial Food Safety

IAFP 2025

Innovations in Cleaning and Sanitation for Low-Moisture Foods

IAFNS Food Microbiology Research Roundtable

IAFNS at IAFP 2024

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