The Allergen Bureau’s Director Debbie Hawkes presented at the 1-day Food Safety & Risk & Compliance Conference in Auckland NZ on June 15.
In today’s food and beverage industry, companies must be ready not only to mitigate food safety disruptions but to communicate these strategies with consumers. Aligned to this theme, the conference focused on addressing recent advances in food science, smart technologies and best management practices that can make a difference towards improving food safety as well as the importance of pivoting the food safety message to fit today’s concerns.
Some highlights included:
- The first panel discussion focusing on the importance of cross-sector collaboration to ensure food safety best practice.
- A recurring theme of COVID-related management measures, which have required the food industry to rapidly pivot and adapt.
- Smart technology topics including whole genome sequencing for pathogen management, and how to mitigate food fraud vulnerability risks with comprehensive traceability systems.
- Discussion around people and behavioural science for encouraging food safety culture as being fundamental to the success of any best practise guideline.
- Debbie’s presentation addressing allergen management to ensure authenticity and safety, including evaluation of the implementation of Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL)
