International Association for Food Protection

Don't miss this year's Ivan Parkin Lecture at IAFP 2025, featuring Dr. Alejandro Mazzotta. His presentation, "Less is More: Ditching Distractions and Focusing on Value," takes place during the Opening Session on Sunday evening, July 27. Alejandro is Senior Vice President of Quality, Food Safety & Regulatory for Chobani LLC in New York, New York, and served as IAFP President in 2016. Not registered for IAFP 2025? Go here: https://lnkd.in/eCAt5pE

If attending IAFP's European Symposium on Food Safety in Madrid, Spain, a must see during your free time is the Temple of Debod. The Egyptian temple, which dates back to the 2nd century BC, was transported to Madrid as a thank you for the country’s generous donation to save the temple from being damaged by floods following the construction of the Aswan Dam. Be sure to add this and the surrounding park and green space to your list of things to do while in Madrid!

IAFP bids a bittersweet goodbye this week to Tamara Ford, Assistant Director. Tamara has overseen many roles throughout her 15 years (in total) with the Association, joining as Communications Coordinator, moving to Program Coordinator, and serving the last two years as Assistant Director. She also served as the liaison for both the European Organizing Committee and the Annual Meeting Program Committee, and helped conduct site selections with both meetings over the years. We wish you the best of luck in your next chapter, Tamara, and will miss your humor, stories, and ability to stomp out fires during our busiest of times.

IAFP President Mark Carter recently took part in a podcast by Food Safety Magazine to discuss how data-driven technologies are transforming food safety practices. Insights shared include the role of data analytics in food safety monitoring; how emerging technologies enhance regulatory compliance; and the future of food safety innovation. Tune in to the full episode 👇

Overly broad recalls following an FDA advisory occur when the source of an outbreak is originally misidentified or cannot be promptly identified. The results of a study in the March 2025 issue of IAFP's Journal of Food Protection can help inform food policy discussions geared toward assessing the benefits of traceability in terms of avoided costs of overly broad food recalls. While industry is often reluctant to provide estimates on the costs of recalls, this study, "Costs of Overly Broad Recalls," fills that void by estimating the per-firm costs incurred by food supply chain entities due to overly broad recalls. Read it in full 👇

Congratulations to Ms. Wendy White, who was recently elected by Members to serve as the 2025–2026 IAFP Secretary. Wendy is the Industry Manager for Food and Beverage at the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute in Atlanta. She will assume her position following IAFP 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio, in July. IAFP extends its thanks to Panos Skandamis for standing for election.

If you’re considering attending the IAFP Annual Meeting, but aren’t sure it would be worthwhile, Fabiana Guglielmone shares about her first time attending, and how it inspired her to eventually join the Executive Board of the association. Watch here:

  There's still time to save on registration to attend IAFP's European Symposium on Food Protection in Madrid, Spain, 6-8 May 2025. Early registration rates end 8 April, so don't wait to take advantage of this savings opportunity! Register here: https://tr.ee/1mHmhb View the complete program to help you schedule your days here: https://tr.ee/JfcFrN

IAFP's Silent Auction is always a popular event during the Annual Meeting, with participants bidding on unique items from various parts of the world and contributions going to the IAFP Foundation. Please consider donating one or more items to this event at IAFP 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio, July 27-30. Find out more about IAFP's Silent Auction here: https://lnkd.in/gdSKVScu

As an exhibitor at IAFP’s annual meeting, your company is able to go beyond getting your name out there to key players in the field of food safety and quality. Here, Kelly shares what she finds valuable in having her company participate as an exhibitor: