June 11, 2003

JIFSAN/BARD Conference: Science and Technology Based Countermeasures to Foodborne Terrorism

The Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) will hold a conference entitled "Science and Technology Based Countermeasures to Foodborne Terrorism." The meeting will be held June 29 - July 2, 2003, at the National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, a secure federal facility. The principal sponsor is the U.S. - Israel Binational Research and Development Fund (BARD).

Until recently, food was considered an unlikely target for terrorism. However, recent terrorism events around the world now require a redoubled effort to protect the safety of the food supply. Concerned governments and industries need to evaluate and adapt countermeasures to reduce potential threats to this most fundamental need. To achieve this goal, research is needed to develop and deploy technologies that minimize the likelihood of attacks. This conference will focus on approaches and tools that can be employed to prevent, detect, and minimize health effects of terrorist attacks throughout the food chain, from production to consumption.

This is a non-classified and open science conference that will provide an update of the scientific knowledge of threat assessment approaches; laboratory analysis; track, trace, authentication, and anti-tampering technologies; and hazard mitigation. Conference goals are science oriented and include identification of research needs. The expected audience includes federal agencies (e.g., USDA, NIH, CDC, EPA, and DoD), states, food industry and trade associations (e.g., NFPA), scientific equipment manufacturers, academic scientists, non-governmental organizations (e.g., ILSI and WHO), and some international attendance (representatives from Israel and UK). All speakers and participants will be issued oral and written warnings about the need to avoid presenting or discussing classified material. The pre-registration deadline is June 15, 2003.

For further information, refer to the JIFSAN website at http://www.jifsan.umd.edu/BARD_JIFSAN.