2012 European Symposium
May 21 – May 23 | Warsaw, Poland
In May this year, IAFP’s European Symposium on Food Safety took place at the Warsaw Hilton in Warsaw, Poland. In collaboration with the International Life Science Institute Europe and the Society for Applied Microbiology, IAFP hosted 270 delegates at this year’s symposium.
Mr. Andrzej Butra, Poland’s Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, provided the Welcome Speech. Andrzej Gantner with the Polish Federation of Food Producers then gave the Opening Session Address titled, “Poland’s Success Story in Com-
pliance.” Ten symposia and two technical sessions along with a Closing Plenary Session compiled the three-day program. There were more than 50 oral presentations and over 75 poster presentations taking place in Warsaw.
During the event, a developing scientists competition was conducted with student competitors. Interestingly, the competition was won by non-Europeans this year. William Nate Tapp from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas received the poster honors and Sri-anant Wanasen from the University of Tasmania in Australia took home the technical presentation honors.
Exhibitors and sponsors helped to support this year’s symposium through their financial contributions. Twenty-eight companies shared their food safety equipment, products and services with attendees through displays in the exhibition hall. We are indebted to each of these companies for the support they provided to the symposium.
Another group worthy of recognition is the Organizing Committee. Dr. Stefano Colombo served as chairperson for the Organizing Committee for this, the eighth European Symposium on Food Safety organized by IAFP. We appre ciate the work of the committee members along with that of the symposia organizers and convenors. With everyone’s help and all working together, the European Symposium in Warsaw was a grand success!