This conference is designed to provide an overview and update on pathogens, toxins and contaminants that may occur in food, water and the environment. The conference provides a basic understanding of the strategies and approaches available for the detection, enumeration, isolation and characterization of the microorganisms and toxins of interest in food microbiology and emphasizes practical application of the information to the solution of problems dealing with microbiology safety and quality of food. The conference also provides ample opportunity for attendee interaction and networking with a distinguished group of faculty, professional colleagues and technical representatives of companies providing instruments, materials and services for microbiological safety, and quality assurance of foods. A poster session will be included for display of posters by food industry professionals and students involved in research dealing with microbiological safety of food and rapid methods in food microbiology. Conference director Pernendu C. Vasavada, professor of animal and food science at UW-RF, has been involved in the organization of this symposium for the past 20 years.
Participants come from countries including England, Hungary, and Australia.
The smaller campus and personalized attention draw many attendees who are interested in the field of Food Microbiology, including people from business, academia, and government agencies. Panels in the past have included journalists and media personnel who often are called upon to report on food safety issues. Blinks gradated from Mayo High School in Rochester, Minn., in 1975 and attended UW-RF from 1976 to 1980. Blinks and her horse, Film Flam, surfaced in 2000 as the top American horse and rider combination. She finished first in the U.S. Olympic Trials and was the top American on the European tour.