Food Allergen Risk Management: Breaching the Gap

Topics:

1) Severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis – data for frequency and source or place of reaction (packaged food, catering, take-away food, home cooking, private parties)

2)  Analytical power and reliability in food allergen risk management decision-making 

3)  Challenges in the food businesses (food manufacturing, restaurants, catering) and the efficacy of food allergen risk management: best practices and biggest threats according to auditors 

Panel discussion and conclusions: Where are the gaps? Where should future efforts focus? Are better regulations (thresholds) the answer? Can food businesses improve risk management? Are more sensitive/reliable methods of analysis the key? Should small food business workers be trained better? What do consumers need to know?

The webinar will be recorded and will remain accessible online after the event. It will also be possible to upload and display sponsor materials on the same webpage.

 

 

Prof. Roland Poms

Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at IUBH (Germany) and former Secretary General at MoniQA Association (Austria). 

Since 2016 he has consulted for the FAO (Rome, Italy). His general expertise is development, validation, and application of analytical methods for food safety and quality assessment. He is involved in working groups of various international organizations. 

 

Dr Michael Walker

Consulting Referee Analyst at LGC Government Chemist Programme (UK).

His primary role at LGC is overall responsibility for the supervision of statutory analytical appellate casework in case a dispute arises between laboratories on the results of official analysis in the agri-food field. He is highly experienced interpretative scientist combining advanced technical knowledge with proven skills in policy, strategy and management.

 

 

 

Prof. Clare Mills

Professor of Molecular Allergology at the University of Manchester, Institute of Biotechnology (UK). 

She is currently working with the University Hospital of South Manchester using her knowledge to understand, better diagnose and treat food allergies. She is involved in the EuroPrevall project and iFAAM project, to develop tools and approaches to enable more effective management of food allergies. 

 

Dr. Ben Remington

Managing Director at Remington Consulting Group B.V. (The Netherlands) and Adjunct Assistant Professor at University of Nebraska (Department of Food Science & Technology - Food Allergy Research & Resource Program) (US).

His areas of focus include food & ingredient exposure assessments, probabilistic risk assessments, risk management decision making support, emergency response support, clinical risk assessment of food allergens & novel foods, and allergen management within a food production facility.

 

Dr. Melanie Downs

Assistant professor at University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US).

Her primary research interests are in food proteomics, with a specific focus on the proteomics of allergenic foods.  The Downs lab utilizes protein mass spectrometry methods to examine several topics associated with allergenic foods, including: i) identification and molecular characterization of food allergens; ii) evaluation of food allergen behaviors in complex systems, such as processed food products and physiological environments; iii) development and assessment of analytical tools for the detection of allergenic food residues.

Director Risk Management at IFS - International Featured Standards (Germany). 

She has an undergraduate degree in food science and a MBA as post-graduate studies. She has worked for over 10 years developing, implementing and improving quality management systems in manufacturing businesses in the UK, Australia and Germany. Her team at IFS is providing support to small to medium sized companies certified against IFS in their risk management activities.

 

R&D Manager of the Molecular Biology Department at Neotron SpA - Cotecna Group (Italy).

She holds a degree in chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies. She has 20 years experience in the field of food diagnostics (GMO, allergens, pathogens, species identification). She was involved in European and Italian projects and currently she is a member of a CEN working group that focuses on food authenticity. She co-authored nearby scientific publications dealing with allergens detection.

Business Manager / Consultant at Bio-Check (UK).

He is a member of the Anaphylaxis Campaign Corporate panel and an active participant in the Food Allergen analytical community. He worked internationally for leading diagnostic test kit producers in commercial roles for 30 years. He is a qualified microbiologist, HACCP L4, Lead Assessor, and BRC Third Party Auditor. 

Global Technical Development and Business Support Manager for Health & Nutrition at SGS (UK).

He is an skilled food chemist, experienced in laboratory operations & management, and EU food regulation requirements. At SGS, he mainly supports the development and optimisation of the food testing operations, working closely together with the chemistry, microbiology and allergens laboratories. He collaborates in the developement and implementation of new testing business opportunities for Food Analysis & Compliance.

Technical Officer and Lead Assessor at ACCREDIA Testing Laboratory Department (Italian Accreditation Body).  

He holds a degree in Food Science and Technology. He has more than 15 years experience in the Italian Accreditation Body. He manages requests for assistance or information on accreditation requirements and monitors the process of accreditation and maintenance of accreditation, especially for testing laboratories operating in the food sector; he participates as instructor in training courses for evaluators and in the screening’s process of new assessors. He is an expert in ISO/IEC 17025 standard.