PITTSBURGH, PA — The opening session Sunday night of the annual meeting and conference of the International Association for Food Protection was one of good news.
Speaking to more than half of the 3,500 attendees, President Ruth Petran ticked off a number of accomplishments, none the least of which is the organizations rebound of its live event that is welcoming people from more than 47 countries to downtown Pittsburgh this week. As with the rest of the world large gatherings such as the IAFP annual event have been curtailed since 2020, but this year meetings, symposia, poster presentations and a trade show floor are all in full swing again.
Petran also cheered the organization for continuing to diversify in membership and programming. She also said one thing that keeps the IAFP organization pertinent is its ability to review itself, which it is doing on a continual basis.
Another high point this year is the fact that the organization’s publication the Journal for Food Protection is switching to open access status, making its information available to a vastly larger audience.
Also citing accomplishments and goals was Gary Acuff, head of the IAFP Foundation, which has raised $84,000 so far this year to further the association’s goals. Acuff noted that in 2005 the Foundation was able to give two scholarships, Since then the Foundation has given almost 250 scholarships, spending $100,000 now to help bring together the best and brightest in the food safety universe.
