Food Safety and Foodborne Disease Surveillance Systems

In October 2004 the Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases of Shaheed Beheshti University hosted in Tehran an Iranian-American workshop on Food Safety and Surveillance Systems for Foodborne Diseases. The purposes of the workshop were to initiate contacts between Iranian and American specialists, exchange information about relevant activities in the two countries, and set the stage for future cooperation in the field. The participants also identified important aspects of food safety that should be addressed more intensively by both countries, including surveillance, research, international trade, and risk assessment. The framework for the workshop had been developed during a meeting of Iranian and American specialists in June 2003 in Les Treilles, France. More that 100 specialists participated in the workshop in their personal capacities, along with representatives of the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization. These proceedings include a number of papers that were presented at the workshop together with summaries of discussions following presentation of the papers.


Table of Contents


Front Matter
Opening Session
Day 1 Morning Session
Overview of Food Safety Issues and of Diseases Arising from Food of
Animal and Plant Origin in the United States--Karl R. Matthews
Overview of Safety Issues in Iran for Food Derived from Animals or
Plants--Dr. M. R. Akbarian
The Role of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of
Iran in Food Safety--M. H. Sh. Hassanpour
Discussion--Dr. Mohammadreza Razailashkajani
Day 1 Afternoon Session
Surveillance for Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases, Including
Outbreak Investigations: An American Perspective--William E. Keene
Foodborne Disease Investigations, Including Surveillance: A
Collaborative Pilot Project--Ali Ardalan
Discussion--Dr. Mohammadreza Razailashkajani
Day 2 Morning Session
Inspection and Investigation: Tools for Detecting Sources of Food
Contamination and Preventing Illness Outbreaks--George J. Jackson
Food Monitoring, Investigation, and Inspection Infrastructure in
Iran--Dr. S. Farzad Talakesh and Dr. Hamid Khaneghahi
Discussion--Dr. Mohammadreza Razailashkajani
Day 2 Afternoon Session
Food Traceability: A Response to Consumers--Dr. Alfredo M. Montes
Nio
The Role of Risk Analysis in a Science-Based Approach to Food
Safety--Charles Yoe
The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System--Dr. A.
Djazayery
Implementing and Auditing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Point Systems and Difficulties in Iran--Sassan Rezaie
The History of Food Safety in Iran--M. Ebrahimi Fakhar
Discussion--Dr. Mohammadreza Razailashkajani
Day 3
Final Plenary Session: Future Steps and Opportunities--Glenn
Schweitzer
Closing Session--Dr. Mohammadreza Razailashkajani
Appendixes
Appendix A Workshop Agenda
Appendix B Participant List