AUC hosts First International Food Safety and Sanitation Symposium

The Department of Chemistry at The American University in Cairo (AUC) has announced an international symposium intended to bring global attention to the food safety and sanitation challenges faced by emerging nations with limited or inadequate domestic food control systems. The two-day event, to be held at AUC’s New Cairo campus October 31-November 1, is intended to provide a platform for collaborative brainstorming and action plan development among regulatory agencies, universities and the food industry in Egypt.  Together, symposium organizers hope to help Egypt and other nations improve food safety standards and protocols, and to reap associated benefits in areas including public health and sustainable development.

Necla Demir, assistant professor in AUC’s Department of Chemistry, says the symposium is a first of its kind opportunity in Egypt to facilitate mutual cooperation among public and private agencies. She says a high level of cross-functional and cross-cultural participation will be required to generate actionable strategies to improve food safety practices and regulations in emerging economies.

“We are seeking to establish knowledge-sharing and partnerships to bring about significantly better cooperation among the world’s scientific and regulatory jurisdictions. It will take a consistent, collaborative effort to have a measureable impact on crises such as widespread food-borne illness outbreaks and food product recalls in Egypt and the Middle East,” she notes.

Symposium topics will address basic food safety and sanitation, food microbiology, legal ramifications associated with food-borne illness, a federal regulatory update and trends in worldwide food safety. The event is drawing a diverse audience from fields including academia, government, food manufacturers, food safety professionals, food traders and consumer groups. Also broadly represented are food processing professionals and distributors. 

Speakers will include food safety and sanitation experts from Egypt, the United States, Turkey, Iceland, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

AUC’s Chemistry Department prepares students for careers in chemistry and related fields by ensuring their understanding of, and ability to use and apply fundamental principles and methods of chemistry. In 2009, AUC launched a masters program with a concentration in food chemistry. It is intended to enhance applied research across food categories to provide value-added solutions to current and future challenges within Egypt’s food industry.