DATE:     4/12/01
CONTACT:  Dr. Paul Dawson, (864) 656-1138
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343

April 19-20
     Symposium at Clemson University
     to deal with food safety issues

     CLEMSON -- Keeping ahead of microorganisms that cause millions 
of cases of food borne illness each year is a never-ending task.
     That's why around 400 researchers, educators and individuals
involved in food handling and preparation will gather April 19-20 
at Clemson University's Madren Center for the Second Bi-Annual Food
Safety Symposium.
     "We want to give participants an in-depth look at food safety
issues and trends," said conference director Paul Dawson, associate
professor of food science and human nutrition at Clemson.
     Speakers will offer a look at microorganisms in fresh foods,
biotechnology issues, home food safety practices and safety trends 
in the food service industry.
     The keynote speaker will be James Jay, adjunct professor at 
the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
     "His talk will be a down-to-earth discussion, pointing out 
that bacteria are present in all raw food products, and we humans
sometimes over react to that fact," said Dawson.
     Food borne illness is a real problem, however, and it can 
be expensive.
     "The costs of medical care and lost productivity in the United
States alone are estimated at anywhere from $3 billion to $17 billion 
a year, depending on who is doing the estimating," said Dawson.
     More than 90 percent of all cases of food poisoning are caused 
by eight bacteria - Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Clostridium
perfringens, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio
parahaemolyticus, Bacillus Cereus and Eschericia coli.
     Jim Rushing, Clemson Extension Service specialist in post harvest
horticulture, will talk to symposium participants about international
and national training programs that deal with food safety.
     Brian Sheldon, professor and Extension leader in poultry 
science at N.C. State University, will discuss bacteriocins used in
food preservation. Bacteriocins are substances, which inhibit
development of competing bacterial strains.
     Other speakers will cover topics such as biotechnology food 
safety issues, the chemistry of sanitizing in food service operations,
packaging irradiated foods, controlling pests in a food service
environment, the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts, and food
borne illness and its impact on food safety.
     Also to be covered are: controlling E.coli0157:H7 at the farm
level, home food safety practices, methods for rapid detection of 
food borne pathogens, health department inspection procedures, an
update on irradiation, the safety of ready-to-eat foods, food safety
education and safety trends in the food service industry.
     Registration at the door begins at 9 a.m. at the Madren Center 
on the Clemson campus and the symposium opens at 10 a.m. The first 
day ends after a 5 p.m. talk by keynote speaker Bruce Clark of the
Marler Clark Law Firm. The second day opens at 8:30 a.m. and adjourns
at 2:15 p.m.
     Registration is $200. That fee will be half price for members 
of the Carolina Association of Food Protection, which co-sponsors 
the symposium along with Clemson University. Student participants 
will be charged $50.
                              END