Summary
Active involvement in the member-hosted AC24 workshops will enable delegates to initiate and contribute to open discussions, share ideas and best practices, and learn from others’ experiences.
Topics
Challenges and opportunities around implementation of deharmonised legislation (current and upcoming)
Involvement in this workshop will enable attendees to share their experiences regarding the opportunities and challenges of applying current and upcoming legislation. It will provide the chance to contribute to discussions and identify potential solutions to regulatory issues, leading to sharing of information on divergence.
Specific areas of focus:
- Windsor Framework
- Sustainability
- High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) restrictions
- Innovation, including novel foods, genetic modification/editing, cultivated meats
Addressing food sector skill gaps
The benefit of engagement in this workshop will be the opportunity to gain a wider understanding of the challenges of increasing the food sector’s talent pool (especially of scientists) and to discuss mechanisms to promote the breadth of roles and opportunities it offers.
Specific areas of focus:
- Influencing school children to study science subjects
- Encouraging people to study relevant subjects at further/higher education
- Attracting talent to the food sector
- Retention for the future
Providing technical support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)
Involvement in this workshop will provide a unique opportunity to share knowledge and first-hand experiences with others, from a wide range of backgrounds. Importantly it will enable learning from others who have worked in SMEs, or supported them, on how to address technical challenges. It will highlight the barriers they face and consider how they can be overcome going forward.
Specific areas of focus:
- Reaching SMEs to support them overcoming barriers faced at growth stages (start up, launch, technological developments, expansion)
- Improving access to current information sources
- Requirements and scientific knowledge gaps
- Developing interventions for building resilient supply chains
New technologies and food safety considerations
The discussion forum is designed to support interested parties in sharing ideas and airing their concerns around new technologies, including costs and other hurdles, for managing the production of safe food and drink. Active involvement will provide useful learnings, as well as the opportunity to converse with those with similar issues to aid consideration of approaches to solutions, often by doing things differently.
Specific areas of focus:
- Sharing best practice for embracing new technologies
- Determining who should be involved in assessing, exploring credibility and implementation
- Appreciate concerns, myth busting and addressing misinformation
- Crisis management and business continuity considerations
Overall Outputs
As well as valuable learnings which delegates will take away, the workshop discussions will serve to identify potential solutions, and provide inputs needed to address key challenges for the food sector. These will shape IFST’s future engagement in curating trusted resources and tools, improving dissemination of scientific information and collaboration with relevant identified stakeholders to educate and influence.