Food Standards Agency
Saturday 4 July 2009
Safer food better business banner
AZ-Directory
What's NewRSS
What is RSS?Listen
Listen to this siteMonday 6 October 2008
Speech by Dame Deirdre Hutton, Chair of the Food Standards Agency, CBE Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre 9 September
Thank you. It’s an honour to be asked to close the conference.
And congratulations on what I have been told has been an excellent event.
A great international event in the scientific calendar.
I believe you have attracted a record number of delegates to Aberdeen with well over 800 people here.
Good to attract and hear from so many leading international figures in the field.
We’ve had representatives from the USA, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, Greece, France, Poland, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Sweden, Australia to mention just a few, and, of course Scotland.
This is very important as we have much to learn from each other in the global food industry.
Many of the subjects discussed here are of crucial importance to the work of the Food Standards Agency.
Specifically, I believe you have had sessions on E-coli O157, campylobacter and salmonella among other pathogens, which are of major importance to the Agency and others like us around the world, in helping us develop strategies that will reduce the incidence of foodborne disease.
There are still 500 deaths year from food poisoning and more than a quarter million in the UK become ill because of it. So food safety is still central to the FSA. And we still need to be vigilant about it.
Your discussions have ranged from issues of microbial food safety issues and virology, to antibiotic resistance and novel food processing technologies.
Here in the UK the science you have been discussing will help underpin our evidence-based policy making, and it will help us achieve our goals to reduce food borne disease.
These are exciting times in this field of microbiology and food hygiene.
And so many benefits to so many people through your work.
But I am told it has not just been all work.
I am told that you enjoyed some excellent local food at your welcome reception on Monday.
And then followed that with a conference dinner and lively ceiledh on Tuesday night.
I sincerely hope that you have all enjoyed the hospitality that Aberdeen and Scotland have offered you.
And I wish you well for the next conference – in two years time – in 2010.
Find out what our other sites have to offer