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Australian Food Safety Centre of Excellence news

The Australian Food Safety Centre of Excellence will be holding its second Annual Industry Forum at Food Science Australia (North Ryde) on Wednesday, 1 December 2004.This is the major public event on the Centre's calendar, and provides an ideal opportunity for interaction between the Centre and its stakeholders.

Food safety related issues are always on the radar of Australian food processors,and the Centre needs to know which industry issues are rising to the top of the priority list, so we and our stakeholders can plan to meet these challenges. Your input can help Centre management as we continually strive to increase the Centre's value to industry.

This year the Industry Forum will provide updates on activities within the Centre's four key programs (Strategic Science,Food Safety Education,Knowledge Transfer, Business Development), during which the Centre 's Advisory Board and Management Team will seek input from delegates into priorities that should inform the Centre's strategic direction in the coming years.

The shape of the Centre in years to come will be a major focus for discussion at this year's Forum. Our core funding is currently provided through the National Food Industry Strategy Ltd - with the support of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This valuable support is due to wind up in mid-2007. It is important that we start planning for this transition now.

Now is the time to mark this important event in your diary. Register your attendance at the 2004 Food Safety Centre Forum, via our web site or phone Cathy Moir, Tel:+61 2 9490 8579.

Issue Update

For the latest on acrylamide in foods and other issues of interest to the food industry see the Issues update section on our .

Research and Training Scholarships

As part of the Food Safety Centre's commitment to training and developing highly skilled food safety professionals, the Centre has announced a range of scholarships for full-time,par t-time or external students.

Postgraduate scholarships:

• Up to $24,000
• Research areas - adaptation and resistance to stress of foodborne microbial pathogens; ecology, physiology and functional genomics of foodborne microbial pathogens; food allergens; chemical contaminants; predictive modelling and risk assessment
• Projects can be under taken at any of the four locations of the Food Safety Centre as appropriate to the research topic.

Honours scholarships:

• Up to $10,000 to support students seeking to obtain BSc Hons in food safety science
• 12 scholarships are available
• Research areas - microbial physiology, molecular biology processing and preservation technologies,toxicology and mathematical modelling
• Projects can be under taken at any of the four locations of the Food Safety Centre as appropriate to the research topic,but students will be enrolled at the University of Tasmania.

Other Training:

The Food Safety Centre also offers funds to support internships,and conducts course, workshops and training programs in food safety science.