US expert to lecture on food safety

3 July 2007

An American professor is being brought to Christchurch to talk about restaurant inspections as part of the free weekly lunchtime lecture series at Our City O-Tautahi in July.

Kansas State University Associate Professor Doug Powell, will discuss “What are you eating when you dine out?” at Our City O-Tautahi on Wednesday, 18 July, as part of the Science in the City series focusing on food safety.

A molecular biologist and journalist, Dr. Powell found that food safety was a discipline where he could meld his interests in science, society and policy. His lab, the International Food Safety Network, seeks innovative ways to compel  everyone in the farm-to-fork food safety system - individual producers, retail employees, and consumers, among others - to acknowledge and adopt best practices to reduce the risk of food-borne illness.

"Food presents us with both delights and cautionary tales," Our City O-Tautahi Business Manager Sarah Kelly says. “The Christchurch community is really fortunate to have a number of experts on food safety available for public lectures at this time. We expect that this series will enjoy similar success to the series on climate change that Our City O-Tautahi hosted last year."

The four lunchtime lectures are sponsored by Our City O-Tautahi and the Canterbury Branch of the Royal Society and start tomorrow.

4 July:        Is our food bugged? Microbiological issues affecting our food. Dr Lynn McIntyre, Food Microbiologist, Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Christchurch Science Centre.

11 July:      Is our food drugged? Getting the balance right. Dr Barbara Thomson, Food Scientist, (ESR).

18 July:      What are you eating when you dine out? The consumer and restaurant inspection.  Associate Professor Doug Powell, Kansas State University.

25 July:      Forensics of food safety Tracking and eliminating a food-borne outbreak. Dianne Morrison and Kathyrn Russell, Community and Public Health.

Lectures are held on Wednesdays from 1.10pm - 1.50pm on the corner of Oxford Terrace and Worcester Boulevard in Our City O-Tautahi's historic debating chamber.  Bookings not required.

For more information, contact Sarah Kelly on 941 7461.

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