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                   Hot Topics

 

Annual Meeting “Hot Topics” are engaging conference sessions covering controversial or hot topics and offer differing points of view.

Just Added: 

Mitigating Flour Food-Safety Risks: Insights from the Recent Flour Recall

Monday, October 24, 1:30 - 3:00 pm

AACCI is currently developing a timely session to address this new industry challenge. Presenters are being invited to provide their perspectives followed by an open forum discussion.

Moderator: Theresa S. Cogswell, Corbion, Lenexa, KS, U.S.A.

Miller’s perspective. Glen Weaver, Ardent Mills, Omaha, NE, U.S.A.

Food manufacturing perspective. Scott Hood, General Mills, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.

Regulatory perspective. Ricardo Carvajal, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Panel discussion

Make Plans to Attend:

Are National Dietary Guidelines Effective In Promoting Whole
Grain Consumption?

Wednesday, October 26, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Organizer: Mary Ellen Camire, University of Maine with the AACCI Nutrition Division

Moderator: Vicky Solah, Curtin University, Australia

The United States (U.S.) government issues Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years. Although the Guidelines are used to shape U.S.A. nutrition assistance programs, other nations also rely on this document.  The Guidelines advocate that half of all grain servings be whole grains, yet most Americans fail to meet this target. Pre-meeting polls will explore reasons why consumers are not eating enough whole grains. The food industry has released more whole grain foods to the marketplace, but the balance of availability, affordability and demand is not yet successful. Conflicting research reports further complicate the picture.

Why aren't consumers adopting whole grains, and do Guidelines account for trans-cultural eating patterns?  Mary Ellen Camire, University of Maine, U.S.A.

Are all dietary surveillance and observational studies useless for informing public health policy? Carol Boushey, University of Hawaii, U.S.A.

Barriers and actions interactive exercise

Panel discussion

 

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Regulations and Their Impact

Tuesday, October 25, 8:30 - 10:00 am

Organizer: Barb Heidolph, Innophos, Inc., Cranbury Township, NJ, U.S.A.; AACCI Food Safety Quality Regulatory Committee

Moderators: Barb Heidolph, Innophos, Inc. U.S.A.; Jan Levenhagen, The Mennel Milling Company, U.S.A.

The Food Safety Modernization Act / FSMA was signed into law in 2011.  Five years later 11 Final Rules are in place. The industry is on a timeline to comply. The compliance is driven by the FDA, but given the history of the industry with food safety issues, recalls and deaths, there is also a demand from the consumers to comply. The aim is to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it. An overview of the entire act and rules will be given; followed by a case study that highlights why prevention is the focus. Two rules and an expectation will then be reviewed.  Safe food is a right of the consumers. The industry must succeed together or fail with just one weakness.

FSMA Update - Jenny Scott, FDA CFSAN

The Milling Industry Confronts Allergen Cross-Contact in the Wheat Supply Chain - Benjamin Boroughs, North American Millers' Association

E. coli in Flour – Inside the Recall, Scott Hood, General Mills

Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food Rule Charles R. Hurburgh, Iowa Grain Quality Initiative

Environmental Monitoring Programs  Kantha Channaiah, AIB International

Validation and Verification FSMA requirement for Preventative Controls Jenny Scott, FDA CFSAN 

GM Food Labeling: Inside the Controversy

Tuesday, October 25, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Organizers: AACCI Molecular Biomarkers Technical Committee

Moderator: Don Sullins, Sullins Consulting Company, Colleyville, TX, U.S.A.

In this lively Hot Topic session, the speakers will address these questions and then field questions from the audience leading to a dynamic, timely, rousing conversation.

“The US government has passed national labeling legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), it’s time to turn the page and look ahead”
                       
* David MacLennan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cargill, Inc.

Consumers make decisions about what they eat based on their values, lifestyles and personal health preferences.

The GM labeling law is a change for US companies and US consumers. The companies must label products with information regarding the GM status of the product. 

The choice is:
·       a plain-language notice,
·       a recognizable symbol,  or
·       a scannable link that leads people to online information.

We need clear and consistent rules for GMO labels on food packaging.

·       What is the current status?  
·       How will the rules be made?                  
·       How do we measure? Manage?             
·       What are the benefits?     

Featuring:

Denzel McGuire, EVP of Government Affairs, GMA    
Craig A. Morris, Ph.D., Deputy Administrator, USDA, AMS Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program
E. Pearce Smith,  Eurofins Genescan 
 
 

                    

* Source Star Tribune, August 3, 2016

 

The New Labeling Regulations for Dietary Fiber: Facts, Challenges and Risks - How will your Label Change with Regard to Dietary Fiber Under
the New Regulations?

Monday, October 24, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Organizer: AACCI Dietary Fiber and Other Carbohydrates Committee with Jon Devries, DeVries & Associates, Coon Rapids, MN, U.S.A.

Sponsor: Medallion Laboratories

This session will address the Intricacies of the Dietary Fiber Labeling Regulation and the current Status of their Implementation. Industry experts will discuss the impact of the regulations on ingredient suppliers and food product producers, large, small, and specialty. The added burdens of proving ingredient dietary fiber status, record keeping and analyses will be covered as well as the potential legal repercussions of non-compliance, whether intentional or not. Dietary fiber methodology currently is designed to accept international definitions of CODEX Alimentarius and most other countries, however it does not necessarily match the handling of dietary fiber for labeling purposes under new regulations. Therefore the question of international harmonization and commensurate methodology will be addressed.

Introduction - Jon DeVries, DeVries & Associates, Minnesota, U.S.A., Moderator

The Nutrition Facts Label: Updated Regulations for Dietary Fiber - Paula Trumbo PhD, US Food and Drug Administration-Supervisory Biologist, Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, Office of Nutrition and Food Labeling, Nutrition Program Staff, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.  Actively engaged in Promulgation of the New Dietary Fiber Labeling Regulation(s).

Measuring dietary fiber under the new regulations: navigating the intact and intrinsic, isolated, or synthetic course - David Plank, Senior Technical Manager, Medallion Laboratories; Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, U.S.A.  Actively engaged in dietary fiber analytical methodology development and application.

Dietary Fiber: Citizen Petitions, Class Actions and Beyond - George Salmas, Managing Principal, The Food Lawyers®, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.