"UK to hold 7th European short course "Quality & safety of fresh-cut produce"

Following Italy, Spain, Germany, and Turkey, the 7th edition of the European Short-course on "Quality & Safety of Fresh-cut Produce" will take place in Cardiff, UK, on January 21-23, 2015.

"We have put together an excellent programme of Speakers for this course edition" says Dr. Hilary Rogers of Cardiff University, Convener of the event, "including world-known key experts in the field of post-harvest biology and technology".

Besides Dr Rogers, the course is co-coordinated by Dr Carol Wagstaff (Reading University, UK), Prof Leon Terry (Cranfield University, UK) and Prof Giancarlo Colelli (University of Foggia, Italy). Some of the key speakers include Dr. Marita Cantwell and Dr. Trevor Suslow both from UC Davis, USA and Dr. Maria Isabel Gil from CEBAS-CSIC (Murcia, Spain) and Prof. Francisco Artés-Hernandez from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (Spain).

The program is designed for individuals from the fresh and processed fruit and vegetable industry and will be of interest for food scientists, food engineers, quality assurance personnel and new product development staff. The course also is valuable to representatives from R&D, students, Institutions, food companies, and suppliers (packaging, plant materials, equipment).

Topics will include issues relating to pre-harvest effects on post-harvest quality, handling considerations for a range of fresh cut produce and issues of water sanitation, packaging, and layout of unit operations. Lectures will be alternated with discussion sessions in order to increase the degree of interaction among participants. In addition, chance of networking will be increased through the organization of posters during lunch and tea/coffee breaks and a dedicated evening event. The course will also give attendees a unique overview of results from QUAFETY, a current EU FP7-funded project (www.quafety.eu).

Limited to 100 participants it will be handled on a first-come, first-registered basis. For detail information (i.e. how to register, complete Course schedule, etc.) please visit the Course website (http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/fresh-cut-produce/) or contact Dr. Rogers at rogershj@cardiff.ac.uk.

Publication date: Wed 29 Oct 2014