Joining Hands to enable Food Safety in Africa

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Welcome

Joining Hands to enable Food Safety in Africa

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

On behalf of the National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) in collaboration with the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization International Agency for Nuclear energy FAO/IAEA Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, the IAEA Technical Cooperation Department, and the Africa Food Safety Network, we are delighted to invite all stakeholders from food control authorities, governmental and commercial laboratories, industry, academia and representatives of national and international agencies, to attend the 2nd Africa Food Safety Workshop (AFSW 2022).

This workshop will bring together experts within the regulatory food safety space, specifically food testing laboratories and quality infrastructure institutions, food manufacturers, researchers in academia, governmental and non-governmental food control programmes.

Your participation will provide your organisation with an opportunity to engage with influential scientists and regulators from across the globe and key role players from Africa and the international community. Presentations and discussions will encompass: advances in analytical testing, measurement, SPS and conformity standards, One Health, capacity building, sustainable skilling and recognition of capabilities through proficiency testing and accreditation; risk analysis; food monitoring and surveillance programmes; food safety education, the private sector and stakeholder awareness.

I, therefore, believe that this workshop will be another successful convocation of leading authorities in their various Food Safety disciplines and that by joining hands, and reconnecting we will continue the important task of enabling food safety in Africa.

NMISA, as your host, together with the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization International Agency for Nuclear energy FAO/IAEA Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, will do our very best to make sure that your time spent at this workshop is pleasant and fruitful, both socially and scientifically. We are looking forward to meeting you again in person in June 2022, at Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg, South Africa.

With Best Regards,

Ndwakhulu Mukhufhi

CEO: National Metrology Institute of South Africa

Why This Event

In 2022, the National Metrology Institute of South Africa, will be hosting the second Africa Food Safety Workshop in collaboration with the FAO-IAEA Joint Technical Centre, the IAEA Technical Cooperation Department  and the Africa Food Safety Network, to promote standards, reliable methods of analysis and inter-institutional cooperation for better public health and trade

Representatives from national, regional and international institutions in the chemistry and microbiological field and prominent industry experts, academia, and regulators will be attending the workshop. Participation in the Africa Food Safety Workshop will allow your organisation to engage with influential scientists across the globe and key role players from Africa and the international community

 

We are anticipating over 250 participants from:

  • Food testing laboratories (analysts and managers)
  • Quality infrastructure institutions including Accreditation, Standards, Scientific and Legal Metrology institutes
  • Regulators
  • Research/academia
  • Industry (food manufacturers/distributors)
  • International and non-governmental organizations
  • Professional associations
  • Interested general public and civil society

The Workshop will also provide a dedicated exhibition for Food Safety instrumentation, equipment suppliers and other industry-related service providers

About the Event

The workshop will take place in the form of lectures, posters and interactive panel discussions covering the following topics:

  • Advances in screening and confirmatory analysis applied to food safety testing for: pesticides, mycotoxins, veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, marine biotoxins, phycotoxins, persistent organic pollutants, microplastics and radionuclides
  • Foodborne microbial hazards: zoonoses, One Health and antimicrobial resistance
  • Food fraud
  • Scientific capacity building and recognition of capabilities: Measurement standards; proficiency testing and accreditation; sustainable skilling
  • Risk Analysis: Assessment: management and communication
  • Sanitary and Phytosanitary requirements within the AfCFTA
  • Food monitoring and surveillance programmes; Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) /Maximum levels (MLs)
  • Food Borne illnesses/outbreaks: Notification, responses and epidemiology
  • Food safety education, the private sector and stakeholder awareness
    Register Here

    Welcome

    Fees

    Programme

    27 June -1 July 2022, Emperor’s Palace Convention Centre, Johannesburg

     Welcome to the Food Safety Event of the Year!

    The purpose of the event is to enhance networking among food safety stakeholders in Africa; to facilitate the sharing of analytical knowledge and transfer of developed technologies related to a range of food hazards, and to encourage continent-wide discussions on how to best improve national/regional food safety control systems to safeguard consumers and facilitate trade. This event will also explore through diverse discussion panels, how to best align laboratories to address challenges of setting food safety standards for both trade and public health; fitting food safety control systems into the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) arrangements and reducing trade rejections.

    Click here to Register

    Speakers

    Venue

    Social Excursions

    Registration Fees

    Payment Method via PayFast

    • Online card payment
    • EFT (Electronic funds transfer)
    • Direct EFT Deposits

    Workshop Registration Includes

    • Access to all Workshop sessions, poster and exhibition area
    • Networking cocktail event (Monday 27 June)
    • Gala dinner (Wednesday 29 June)
    • Workshop pack including name badge, pocket program and other collateral
    • Coffee breaks and lunch on the registered days

    *All prices are in ZAR only

     

     

    Click here to Register
    Delegate

    Full Workshop :  R8 000

    Monday – Tuesday :  R3 600

    Wednesday – Friday :  R4 500

    Student

    Full Workshop :  R5 000

    Speaker

    Full Workshop : R6 000

    Monday – Tuesday :  R3 600

    Wednesday – Friday : R4 500

    IAEA

    IAEA registration R5000 (Excl VAT)

    Speakers and Abstracts

    Abstracts for posters and oral presentations are welcomed for the workshop topics listed above.

    Abstract submission deadline is 31 May 2022.

    Only registered participants with accepted oral/ poster presentations will appear in the programme.

    A selection of papers presented at the workshop will be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed Journal (Special Issue for Food Safety in Africa).

    The papers will be selected by the AFSW 2022 Workshop Committee in agreement with the Journal Editorial Board. In all cases, it is mandatory that the papers will be expanded versions of what was presented at the Workshop. The selection process will be done at the end of the Workshop and authors will be contacted and asked about their willingness to expand and submit the presented research results. Then, all the articles will have to be submitted for publication in the Journal and will be subjected to the usual review process of the Journal itself.

    Please email completed abstract to abstracts@nmisa.org

    By submitting your abstract, you agree to the following:
    That the Workshop committee has the right to submit your abstract for peer review.
    No correspondence will be entered into in the case of non-acceptance.
    The abstract may be published in electronic format on the Workshop website.

    The Africa Food Safety Workshop Abstract Review committee:

    1. Dr Courage Saba – Ghana 
    2. Dr Daniel O. Apeh – Nigeria 
    3. Dr Gerald Monga – Zambia
    4. Ms Bertha Jackson – Zimbabwe
    5. Dr Justine Jolly  – Uganda
    6. Ms Doreen Kenangwa – Kenya
    7. Dr Mounira Azouz – Algeria
    8. Prof Chibundu N. Ezekiel – Nigeria
    9. Dr Angelique Botha – South Africa
    10. Dr Caitlin Swiegelaar – South Africa
    11. Dr Dennis Mkhize – South Africa
    12. Dr Nontete Nhlapo – South Africa
    13. Dr Laura Quinn – South Africa
    14. Ms Des Prevoo-Franzsen – South Africa
    15. Ms Mare Linsky – South Africa

     

    Download Abstract Templates here

    Speakers

    View Bio

    Dr. Francis Ejobi

    Soroti University, Uganda

    View Bio

    Prof. Jacob de Boer

    Vrije University Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    View Bio

    Prof. Lucia Anelich

    Anelich Consulting, South Africa

    View Bio

    Dr. Wim Reybroeck

    Technology and food science unit, Belgium

    View Bio

    Dr. Zoltan Mester

    National Research Council, Canada

    View Bio

    Dr. Holly Erdely

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration Centre for Veterinary Medicine (US FDA CVM), USA

    View Bio

    Dr. James Sasanya

    International Atomic Energy Agency (Jnt. FAO/IAEA Div. of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture), Austria

    View Bio

    Dr. Maria Fernandes-Whaley

    National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA), South Africa

    View Bio

    Prof. Pieter Gouws

    Director, Centre for Food Safety, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

  • Dr Francis Ejobi is a Veterinarian and Professor of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology. He is currently serving as the Manager of the Directorate of Research and Innovations, Soroti University, Uganda.  He served for 10 years (2006 to 2016) as Head of Department of Biosecurity, Ecosystems and Veterinary Public Health, Makerere University.

    His current research interests and passions include One Health approach, antimicrobial resistance and epidemiology of zoonoses (especially, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, Brucellosis and Cystic Echinococcosis). With funding from USAID under Emerging Pandemic Threat Threats 1 (EPT 1) project, he developed and operationalized a   One Health Residency program at Makerere University.  He has won many competitive research grants and consultancies from international and national (Ugandan) organisations, including, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, World Health Organisation, European Union, Caritas Kotido and Caritas Moroto Catholic Dioceses. He has published over 64 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented numerous papers in national and international conferences. He is a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, and a certified Environmental Impact Assessor.

  • Prof Jacob de Boer is Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology at the Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Prof. de Boer has worked for many years on the environmental contamination and analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls, flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, pesticides and other contaminants.

    He is an advisor for UN Environment, a member of the QUASIMEME Scientific Assessment Group, and member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the CEFIC Long Range Initiative.

    Currently, he runs three EU projects CHLOFFIN, EUROqCHARM and REVAMP, some of which are focused on certifying reference materials for contaminants. He has organised numerous international interlaboratory studies on contaminants, such as  the recent study on microplastics. He is a regular reviewer of scientific projects and programmes in various countries.

    He has published 240 peer-reviewed articles with an average citation of 53.10 per article, among which one paper in Nature and one in Science, two books and 21 book chapters. His H-index is 57. He is editor-in-chief of Chemosphere (Impact factor 7.1) and a member of the editorial board of the Handbook of Environmental Chemistry.

  • Prof Anelich holds a PhD in Microbiology and spent 25 years at the South African Tshwane University of Technology, where she became the first female head of the food science and  technology department and Associate Professor. She is a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST) and the only South African invited to join the ICMSF (International Commission on the Microbiological Specifications for Foods).  She was the first South African Chair of the Scientific Council of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST). In 2006 she joined the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa where she established a food safety body for the South African food industry.  In 2011, she started her own international food safety consulting and training business, where she served as Food Hygiene Expert for the African Union (IBAR). Prof Anelich was instrumental in providing guidance to the food industry on Listeria monocytogenes during the 2018 SA listeriosis outbreak and on SARS-CoV-2 issues related to food safety. She is currently co-editor of 2 books on food safety and is a Member of the African Union Advisory Group developing a Food Safety Strategy for the African continent.

  • Wim Reybroeck is responsible for research concerning the microbiological and immunological detection of antimicrobials in milk, meat, eggs, shrimps and honey; the validation of test kits for the screening of antimicrobial residues and for quality aspects of honey and raw milk.

    He is currently a member of different standing committees of the International Dairy Commission e.g., chairman of group 16 ‘FAQs about veterinary drug residues’; chairman of group A18 ‘Guidelines for the validation of quantitative screening methods for the detection of Aflatoxin M1 in milk and milk products.

    He is also a member of the International Honey Commission since 2002 and an independent honey expert for the European Commission.

    The laboratory at ILVO obtained Belac ISO 17025 accreditation for more than 20 antimicrobial screening tests. ILVO is a national reference laboratory for veterinary drugs and mycotoxins (in collaboration with CER).

    The laboratory is an AOAC-recognized expert laboratory for the validation of test kits for the detection of antibiotic residues. The lab performed many validation studies of different immunological and receptor tests for the screening for antimicrobials in milk, tissue and honey.

  • Zoltán Mester, obtained his PhD in Chemistry in Hungary. In 1999 he joined the chemistry program of the National Research Council Canada (NRC) in Ottawa. He has been heading the inorganic chemical measurement science activities at NRC since 2010. His research interest encompasses analytical mass spectrometry, sampling, sample preparation and sample introduction. He is currently serving as the President of the Analytical Chemistry Division of IUPAC. He also represents Canada at the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance which is responsible for the upkeep of the chemists’ SI unit, the mole.

    Dr Mester is involved in training the next generation of analytical chemists / chemical metrologists by hosting and working with many students in his lab at NRC over the years and maintaining close relations with various universities including Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada and Trent University, Peterborough, Canada where he is an adjunct professor.

    He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, 3 book chapters and edited a book on sample preparation.  He has delivered numerous invited, keynote and plenary presentations at various conferences and he lectures regularly at universities and research institutions around the world.

  • Holly Erdely has a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA. For the past 13 years, Dr Erdely has served as a Pharmacologist in the Division of Human Food Safety at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, evaluating residue chemistry studies and information in support of the human food safety evaluation of compounds for use in food-producing producing animals. Since 2013, she has served as a technical expert for the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) on residues of veterinary drugs.

  • Dr James Sasanya oversees capacity building and research activities including but not limited to residues and chemical contaminants, natural toxins and microbiological hazards in food and related matrices. He supports developing countries around the world to establish or improve laboratory capabilities leveraging the advantages of nuclear/isotopic and associated technologies. Dr Sasanya also assists countries in establishing national residue or contaminant monitoring programmes for public health and trade. He is keen on  advancing national, regional and interregional food safety. He also supports the setting and implementation of Codex standards, guidelines and codes of practice. Dr Sasanya has training- and work experience (of ~25 years) in veterinary medicine, analytical chemistry, pharmacology/toxicology, food safety and international relations and is a board-certified toxicologist. He has served in the private and public sector (including local government, extension services and academia) and is now employed in international civil service.

  • Dr Maria Fernandes-Whaley is Section Head of the Organic Analysis Laboratory in the Chemistry, Materials and Medical Metrology Division of the National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA). The laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited for food safety and quality measurements.
    Since 2015, Maria has also directed the NMISA Reference Materials Programme for the ISO 17034 accredited production and certification of food safety and quality reference materials (CRMs) and the coordination of ISO 17043 accredited customised food and water proficiency testing (PT) schemes that are relevant to South Africa and the region.
    Maria has served as guest lecturer at the University of Pretoria, since 2009, presenting a short course to Chemistry students on Quality Assurance, accreditation, measurement traceability and the estimation of measurement uncertainty.
    She currently represents South Africa on the BIPM International Consultative Committee for Quantity of Material – Organic Analysis Working Group (CCQM-OAWG), the IMEKO TC 23 for Food and Nutrition, the IAEA RAF 5084 Africa Food Safety Network (AFoSaN) and the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Sub-Saharan Africa section; the SANAS specialist technical committee for food and water testing, and the SABS technical committee for reference materials (ISO TC 334).

  • Prof Pieter Gouws is a professor of Food Microbiology at the Centre for Food Safety, in the Department of Food Science at Stellenbosch University. He had spent some time as an international research fellow at the University of Nottingham and is also the South African representative on the International Commission of Food Microbiology and Hygiene (2008 to present). His current research interests focus on novel and innovative applications for the detection and control of unwanted bacteria in food and processing environments, improvement of food safety and food quality, novel processing technologies and antimicrobial resistance of foodborne bacteria. He is the author of various scientific papers and trains undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of Food Microbiology and Food Safety. He is also the Director of the Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University.