2025 European Symposium
May 6 – May 8
IAFP’s European Symposium on Food Safety took place 6–8 May 2025 in Madrid, Spain, with 335 registered delegates participating from 40 countries. IAFP was proud to be represented by Mark Carter, President, and Manpreet Singh, President-Elect, along with Association Past Presidents Gary Acuff and Don Schaffner.
Tuesday’s Opening Session began with a welcome to delegates from Francois Bourdichon, SODIAAL International, Paris, France, and Chair of the Organising Committee. IAFP President Mark Carter, MC Squared, Chattanooga, Tennessee, officially opened the symposium and spoke about IAFP and its benefits. He then introduced IAFP President-Elect Manpreet Singh, University of Georgia, Athens, who presented Marcel Zwietering, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands, with the IAFP Europe Food Safety Award, sponsored by Vikan. This award recognizes an active IAFP Member from Europe for dedicated and exceptional contributions to the profession of food safety in Europe. Also recognized were two deserving recipients of the 2025 European Student Travel Scholarship: Maha Rockaya, University of Debrecen in Hungary; and Leonardos Stathas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. This award is sponsored by the IAFP Foundation. Farid Dewan, a graduate student at Bangladesh Agricultural University and a 2024 Student Travel Scholarship recipient, was also in attendance and recognized for his food safety efforts.
Presenting during the Opening Session were Marta Hugas, European Food Safety Authority (retired), Parma, Italy, speaking on “25 Years of Food Safety Improvements: Which are the Next Challenges?”; and Paloma Sánchez Vázquez de Prada, Agencia Española de Seguiridad Alimentaria y Nutrición, Madrid, Spain, presenting “The Biological Risk Management Unit of AESAN: Challenges, Strategies, and Actions.”
Other speakers on Tuesday included Mirko Rossi, EFSA, Piedmont, Italy; Stefano Morabito, Istituto Superiore Di Sanita, Roma, Italy; Constantine Richard Stefanou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece; Jozsef Baranyi, University of Debrecent in Hungary; Mariem Ellouze, Ferrero Food Safety & Integrity Center, Alba, Italy; Cristina Fernandez, IRIS Technology Solutions, Barcelona, Spain; Lauren Alteio, Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Tulln, Austria; Michele Suman, Barilla G. & R. Fratelli S.p.A. & Catholic University of Sacred Heart Milan/Piacenza, Parma, Italy; Bruno Dujardin, EFSA, Parma, Italy; Lorraine Crowley, Crème Global, Dublin, Ireland; Heidy Den Bester, Wageningen University in The Netherlands; Manpreet Singh; Sophia Johler-Illic, LMU Munich in Germany; and Monika Ehling Schulz, Center for Pathobiology and Institute of Microbiology, Vienna, Austria.
A few of Wednesday’s speakers were Ana Allende, Spanish National Research Center, Espinardo, Spain; Francois Bourdichon; Liesbeth Jacxsens, Ghent University, Ghent, Ontario, Canada; Kris De Smet, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium; Maria Teresa Da Silva Felicio, EFSA, Parma, Italy; Elise Hoek, Wageningen Food Safety Research in The Netherlands; Jasmine Kataria, Kerry Ingredients and Flavors, Beloit, Wisconsin; and Cristina Castello, Wageningen University in The Netherlands. A few speakers who took part in Wednesday’s roundtable included Anett Winkler, Cargill, Unterschleißheim, Germany; Jerome Combrisson, MARS, Aimargues, France; Alvin Lee, Institute for Food Safety and Health, Bedford Park, Illinois; and Daniele Sohier, Hygiena, Camarillo, California.
A few speakers who took part in Thursday’s roundtable included Deon Mahoney, Food Safety Consultant (retired), Collingwood, Australia; Wayne Anderson, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Dublin; Sara Bover-Cid, IRTA, Girona, Spain; Tomasz Seliwiorstow, Barry Callebaut, Wieze, Belgium; and Geert Van Kempen, Veeva Systems, Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Fifteen symposia, two roundtables, and nine technical sessions, along with the Closing Plenary Session, comprised the three-day program. Poster presentations given throughout the meeting totaled 159. In addition, the Interactive Marketplace: A One-Stop-Shop for Food Safety Resources from Europe was held on Wednesday and included 19 posters.
The Closing Session featured Andres Rodriguez, Commercial Food Sanitation, The Netherlands, speaking on “Navigating GFSI Hygienic Design Requirements: Impact and Compliance”; and Ana Benedicto, UNE, Madrid, Spain, presenting “Innovate with Standards.” Mark Carter provided closing remarks after presenting awards to two of the many students who took part in the Student Competition. Flora Marteau, IFREMER (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea), Nantes, France, and Nikolaos Giannoulis, University of Reading, Berkshire, England, received top honors for their poster and technical presentations (respectively) during the conference.
This year’s symposium was supported in part by our exhibitors and sponsors through their financial contributions. IAFP acknowledges each of these companies for their support provided to the symposium.
Additional recognition was extended to the Organising Committee, chaired by Francois Bourdichon. IAFP extends its thanks and appreciation to these committee members, as well as to the symposium organizers, convenors, and presenters, all of whom provided much time and hard work into planning and organizing this year’s European Symposium in Madrid. This year’s attendance continues to make it a highly successful meeting for those arriving from across Europe and around the world.