September 29, 2011
Powell speaks on food safety in Australia
Douglas Powell, professor of food safety in diagnostic medicine/pathobiology, gave an invited plenary talk at the 14th Australian Food Microbiology/second International Association for Food Protection Asia Pacific Symposium on Food Safety in Melbourne, Australia, Sept. 26. Powell also spoke at a session for the state Department of Primary Industries on engaging the public regarding animal and plant diseases.
Powell discussed how a culture of food safety is built on a set of shared values that operators and their staff follow to produce and provide food in the safest manner. Businesses that promote food safety culture can market their activities to consumers at retail, who, in turn, can feedback to those companies that make food safety a public priority, Powell said. He also stressed that food safety leaders don’t just follow public perceptions; they help create public expectations for safe food.