The overall level of the presentations and round tables, as well as the participation, was elevated, demonstrating the great interest aroused by the proposed subjects.
The presence of representatives of the food industry, distribution, catering industry, research centers, public and private laboratories, as well as certification entities, consulting companies and consumer associations, shows once again that food safety is a very topical issue.
The Congress opened on the 14th with an initial conference focused on trends and global challenges in food production.
Topics related to animal welfare, quality, vegetable certificationand antibiotic resistance requirements generated a great interest throughout the morning of the 15th. Sessions related to new technologies applied to food hygiene, quality laboratories and certification were also developed during that morning.
The afternoon session was focused on allergen management and generated an interesting and active subsequent discussion. In relation to this issue, our colleagues from the Zeulab technical department, Luis Mata and Patricia Galán, presented two poster about allergen detection on work surfaces and allergens incidence in kitchenware in school canteens.
Day 16 began with three sessions related to food analytical control and certification to ensure the quality and R&D&I in food security. During the round table regarding food analytical control, José A. Valares, Key Account Manager of ZEULAB, presented the paper "control of antibiotics residues throughout the food chain".
This paper approached the attendees to the known concept "from the farm to the table" which implies that all operators in the food chain, from primary producer to processing industry or distribution, are responsible for ensuring the food safety. It is therefore necessary to put analytical tools of self-control within the reach of all. In this context, ZEULAB has developed “e-reader”, a simple method for antibiotics detection in food.
Finally, the Congress was closed with a general round table involving all attendees focused on online trade food.