FAPC hosts Food Safety Symposium to discuss prions and enterotoxins
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Food & Agricultural Products Center recently hosted a Food Safety Symposium on the Oklahoma State University campus to discuss prions and enterotoxins.
Sponsors of the symposium were the FAPC; Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; and Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Food safety is a major concern for producers, as well as consumers, said Stanley Gilliland, FAPC food microbiologist and Food Safety Symposium committee chair.
“From initial production practices on the farm, to the many multi-faceted processes food undergoes, the food industry continually searches to improve food safety practices,” Gilliland, said. “The symposium provided the latest information on food safety to all who attended the symposium.”
The symposium also provided an opportunity for participants to interact with some of the experts in the area of food safety.
The speakers during the symposium included M. Susan Brewer, University of Illinois; Daniel Engeljohn, FSIS/USDA; Reginald W. Bennett, FDA; Garry McKee, FSIS-USDA; Leigh Ann Barnes, FoodProtech; and Christina DeWitt, OSU Department of Animal Science.
The speakers discussed food safety topics such as “BSE: The Problem and Concern for the Meat Industry,” “BSE: Policy Implications at USDA-FSIS” and “Staphylococcal Enterotoxin: The Toxins its Rapid Identification and Potential Risks.”
Other topics included “Functions of the FSIS-USDA Technical Services Center” and “Abnormal Prions: Research Plans to Eliminate Infectivity in Animal By-Products.”
The FAPC was excited to offer some of the nation’s leading food safety scientists as speakers, said J. Roy Escoubas, FAPC director.
“They provided expert information and discussions concerning prions and enterotoxins, reinforcing the need for food safety from farm to table,” Escoubas said.
- ### -
Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating. The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.
