eNews from the Global Harmonization Initiative

AUGUST 2016

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GHI BOARD

Dr. h.c. Huub Lelieveld
The Netherlands

Mr. Larry Keener, CFS
United States

Dr. Sangsuk Oh
Korea

Dr. Gerhard Schleining
Austria

Dr. Vishweshwaraiah Prakash
India

Dr. Bernd van der Meulen
The Netherlands

Irena Soljic, MSc.
Belgium/Croatia


BECOME A MEMBER

Gain an influential voice in consensus with other experts that will have a real impact on reducing world hunger, improving food safety and nutrition, and supporting new technology applications.

 

Membership is free.

 Enroll online today! 

 


GHI DIRECTORS & COORDINATORS

Ms. Julie Larson Bricher
Executive Director
Communications Director

Irena Soljic, MSc.
General Secretary

Dr. Alina-Ioana Gostin
Ambassador Programme Director
  
Dr. Aleksandra Martinovic
Meetings Coordinator

Mr. Richard F. Stier
Course Director

Nila Ghasemkhani, MSc.
Membership Director

Ms. Nicole Coutrelis
Regulatory Advisor

Dr. Bernd van der Meulen
Legal Advisor - Food

Dr. Sian Astley
Editorial Advisor

Mr. Grigor Badalyan
Newsletter Publisher

Dr. Aine Regan
Social Media Advisor

Mr. Gunter Greil
Webmaster


GHI SUPERVISORY BOARD

 

Ms. Michaela Pichler (Chair) 

ICC, Vienna, Austria 

 

Dr. Hans Steinhart

EuCheMS Food Chemistry Division, Hamburg, Germany

 

Dr. Pablo Juliano

CSIRO, Werribee, Australia

 

Dr. V. Balasubramaniam

The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

 

Dr. Pingfan Rao

Fuzhou University and Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, Fujian, China

 

Dr. Jaap Hanekamp

Roosevelt Academy, Tilburg,  

The Netherlands

 

Dr. Sian Astley

EuroFIR, Brussels, Belgium

 

Dr. Maria Tapia

Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela

 

Dr. Kwang-Ok Kim

Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

 


GHI AUDITORS

 

Dr. Vladimir Kakurinov

Macedonia

Dr. Pablo Juliano
Australia


ATTEND A MEETING
  Plan to participate at upcoming GHI Meetings!

In the coming months, GHI will hold several general meetings, working group gatherings, and make presentations at scientific meetings all over the globe.

Visit the Calendar page to get details on dates and times!



 

Contact Us
  
It is a pleasure to write a message for the second edition of the this year's GHI Matters, knowing that it will now continue to report about GHI activities about every month. By now I trust that most if not all of our members have seen and explored the revamped website and I invite you to send comments and suggestions.

Much is happening in GHI as shown in the report on the meeting in Chicago, held in association with the annual IFT meeting in Chicago.

You may find that gradually the number of Ambassador and Working Group pages increase in number and in content in the coming months. You are all invited to contact the GHI Ambassadors or the chairs of the Working Groups. if you have questions, ideas or want to join. When in doubt about who to address, just send your message to our general email at info@globalharmonization.net.

I wish you all a pleasant time the coming months.

Kind regards,
 
Huub Lelieveld
 President, GHI 
GHI @ IUFOST 2016

 
22 August 2016 | 14:00 - 16:00 | IUFoST 2016  

Huub Lelieveld
GHI President Huub Lelieveld will lead a GHI General Meeting at the International Union of Food Science and Technology's (IUFoST) World Congress of Food Science and Technology in Dublin, Ireland. The meeting will take place on Sunday, 22 August. The room location will be announced soon.

GHI will also present two program sessions at the IUFoST Congress:
  • Contaminants in the Food Chain, chaired by Dr. Joseph Scimeca and Prof. Dr. Petros Taoukis, on Monday, 22 August from 11:30 - 12:55
  • Food Safety and Harmonisation of Regulations, chaired by Dr. Obadina Adewale and Dr. h.c. Huub Lelieveld. on Wednesday, 24 August from 16:00 - 17:55
The meeting is free and open to all IUFoST conference participants. Please visit the IUFoST World Congress website for details on on registration and the full program, or download the IUFoST preliminary program here.

You can also download a GHI Agenda (.pdf) here, which provides details on both GHI sessions and the general meeting. Visit the GHI Calendar page for details on more meetings and special sessions throughout the year.


New GHI Book Available

 
Editors: V. Prakash, Olga Martin-Belloso, Larry Keener, Sian Astley, Susanne Braun, Helena McMahon and Huub Lelieveld
   
2015  |  536 pages  |  Elsevier Academic Press
 
Regulating Safety of Traditional and Ethnic Foods is the second book in the GHI Series published by Elsevier Academic Press. Authors examine a variety of traditional foods from around the world, their risks and benefits, and how regulatory steps may assist in establishing safe parameters for these foods without reducing their cultural or nutritive value in today's diets. Visit the Elsevier Store page for pricing and ordering details. GHI members receive a 30% discount by using the special code GHI30.
 
Report from the GHI General Member Meeting at IFT 2016

Thanks to everyone who attended our regular GHI General Meeting at the 2016 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Expo, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.   

A meeting report (.pdf) is available here for download. GHI members who want to follow up on any of the action items listed in this report can email us at info@globalharmonization.net. 
    
Order Your Copy of GHI's First Book and Receive a 30% Discount

Based on the principles of GHI, Ensuring Global Food Safety: Exploring Global Harmonization offers a rational and multi-faceted approach to current food safety issues, while arguing that a science-based global regulatory framework will enhance the safety, availability and quality of the food supply worldwide.

GHI was specifically established to help build global consensus on the scientific evidence underpinning food safety policymaking. This book provides practical examples in key areas such as microbiology, toxicology and nutrition, as well as discusses possible improvements necessary to sustain the integrity of the global food supply in the 21st century. Get a 30% discount by using Code GHI30
Member News & Notes
 Dr. Cindy Stewart
Congratulations to GHI member Cindy Stewart, PhD, CFS, who was named President-Elect of the Institute of Food Technologists in March 2016, and will officially assume her duties in September. Dr. Stewart is global cultures and food protection technology and innovation leader with DuPont Nutrition & Health in the United States.
 

ISEKI-Food Association has issued its July 2016 newsletter, which includes news about the 4th International ISEKI-Food Conference, held in conjunction with BOKU in July. GHI was one of the supporting organizations of the meeting. Read the newsletter... 
 
Creative Bits

GHI member Juliane Dias sends in this link to the 3-minute YouTube video, "This is NOT Natural," posted by AsapSCIENCE. The video complements the messages in GHI's ShareSheet, Harmonisation: Feeding People, Fueling Innovation.


Dr. Viduranga Waisundara, GHI Ambassador to Sri Lanka, penned a poem about GHI. Enjoy!

To Reach Harmony of Commandments
 
We all love food, we eat to live. 
We like food to be safe and sound, 
for we do not want to poison ourselves. 
With so many rules going around 
about safety and toxicity of food, 
it is high time for harmony to be found 
in the rules and regulations. 
If not, all food may be downed!

Food can be destroyed
because toxic limits are high or low.
Companies can be closed down,
lives can be in the tow.
It is time for understanding,
it is time to feel and to know,
whether all safety claims about food,
are worthy to bestow.

Anything can be poison,
if the amount is high enough.
All chemicals are harmless
if the amounts are within the cuff.
We were exposed throughout the years
to many toxic chemicals in a huff.
Many were coped naturally.
You might say I'm calling a bluff!

Nevertheless, at the end of the day,
all roads should lead to Rome,
for safety, reality and legality
should be tied under a single dome.
Let us harmonize globally.
Let us preen through the hair with one comb.
Let us partake with science as our advisor,
to bring all regulations to one home.
 
GHI Ambassador Web Pages 

GHI Ambassadors! You now have the opportunity to communicate your GHI activities on a web page dedicated to your country or region. Check out the individual Ambassador pages already posted on GHI's new website for ideas and inspiration on what to post!

Please download and complete the GHI Ambassador Web Page Submission Form (.docx) and return it with your photo today!

 

For more information about becoming a GHI Ambassador, please email Dr. Alina-Ioana Gostin, GHI Ambassador Programme Director.

Conferences & Meetings  

 
GHI regularly makes presentations and holds general and working group meetings in conjunction with scientific and food industry conferences around the globe.

Please check our website for details and links, or contact us via email to submit listings.

_____________________________________________

  
IUFoST 18TH WORLD CONGRESS OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
21-25 August 2016 
Dublin, Ireland 
 
GHI is a supporting organization of the IUFoST World Congress and will hold a General Meeting and two special sessions (Contaminants in the Food Chain, and Food Safety and Harmonisation of Regulations) at this year's event. For details, visit the IUFoST World Congress website...
 

1ST BLACK SEA ASSOCIATION OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (B-FoST) CONGRESS
22-24 September 2016 
Ohrid, Macedonia  
    
GHI is a supporting organization and will hold a General Meeting on 22 September from 14:00-16:00 at this conference. This biennial Congress is gathering the representatives of universities and research institutes, but also food producers and distributors, to promote research, development, innovation and education within food science and technology. Visit the BFoST Congress website for more... 


2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NUTRITION & HEALTH
5-7 October 2016
Riga, Latvia

GHI is a supporting organization for this conference, and will hold a General Meeting and a special session on nutrition, health and regulations. The conference provides a forum for disseminating and gathering ideas and research results by leading scientists, government, as well as business leaders in food, nutrition and health. For details, please visit the Nutrition & Health conference website...


8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE FOOD FACTORY FOR THE FUTURE
19-21 October 2016 
Laval, France

GHI is a supporting organization for Food Factory 2016, an international scientific conference oriented towards industrial applications throughout the food chain. For details, please visit the Food Factory conference website...


5TH EHEDG WORLD CONGRESS ON HYGIENIC ENGINEERING & DESIGN 
2-3 November 2016 
Herning, Denmark 
 
GHI is a supporting organization of this must-attend biennial event, which offers a unique opportunity for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturers and processing and packaging equipment suppliers to interact and access global expertise through the European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group's (EHEDG) expanding worldwide network. Visit the 2016 EHEDG World Congress website for details... 


30TH EFFoST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 
28-30 November 2016
Vienna, Austria

GHI is a supporting organization of this important scientific event, which brings together experts from multidisciplinary food-related fields to inspire a cross-fertilization of new knowledge, ideas and applications. This year's theme is "Targeted Technologies for Sustainable Food Systems." Visit the EFFoST website for details...

GHI will hold a General Meeting and will present a special session entitled Regulations and Legislation for Food Safety, Quality and Innovation. GHI members who are interested in submitting abstracts for this session are invited to send an email by July 29 to GHI.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL HARMONIZATION INITIATIVE
Founded in 2004 as a joint activity of the US-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) International Division and the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI) is a network of scientific organizations and individual scientists working together to promote harmonization of global food safety regulations and legislation. For more information, please visit our website at www.globalharmonization.net.

GHI has legal non-profit entity status and its charter and constitution are registered in Vienna, Austria as the GHI-Association (ZVR453446383).

 

GHI is an initiative of the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), which is the European part of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) and the International Division of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). GHI is supported by many other scientific organizations and receives support from the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG).