UC seminar on food safety next week

A University of Canterbury (UC) seminar on food safety next week will be focusing on food poisoning and chemical hazards in food.

UC’s Food Safety Centre director, Professor Ian Shaw and UC lecturer in food safety, Dr Barbara Thomson are running the seminar. Professor Shaw said the September 24 and 25 event on campus would look at chemical hazards and their relevance to food safety.

``We are exposed to a myriad of chemicals in food every day, the question is which ones impact on our health? This is a key question that will be discussed at the seminar,’’ he said.

``The magnitude of the impact of chemical hazards in food will be highlighted with examples of incidents.  The evolution and role of food regulations in the protection of public health will also be presented. Then we will look at food risks in the context of benefits.’’

Topical issues of genetically modified foods and food allergies will be discussed at the seminar.

Dr Barbara Thomson will talk about poor storage of food, organic foods, additives and contaminants in food.