SFAM conference - day one

The Society for Applied Microbiology held their summer conference in Ireland this year (you can follow them on twitter for more information). Samantha Price was there, and over the next few days I'll be putting up her report.

Name: Samantha Price

Location: Clontarf Castle, Dublin, Ireland

Date: 4^thJuly 2011

Event: SfAM Summer Conference 2011 (Food microbiology)

The Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM) held their annual summer conference at Clontarf Castle in Dublin, Ireland. The castle was a grand venue forjust under a week of talks and tours surrounding the topic of food microbiology.

On the Monday myself and a number of delegates attended the ‘risk assessment workshop' from 11:00am-4:30pm. This gave students and delegates an insight into risk assessment in the food industry and the level of detail required. After lunch a team work exercise got everyone thinking about the detail and appropriate information needed in a risk assessment. What seemed like a ‘good' risk assessment to begin with, by the end of the afternoon, and after much critical discussion, turned out to be in fact a really ‘bad' risk assessment.

In the evening all delegates had the chance to tour the Guinness Storehouse and see what makes the perfect pint of Guinness before the Lewis B Perry Memorial Lecture. Alan Reilly from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland talked about food safety in a global environment and how communication is key. He also praised social media, such as Twitter, emphasising how it influences the communication between scientists, journalists and the general public.

After the lecture a Guinness style buffet was prepared for delegates, along with a complimentary pint of Guinness. During this time SfAM's Postgraduate and Early Career Scientists (PECS) committee gathered all the student members for an ‘ice breaker' session that enabled student members to network and get to know one another. This student session was a great fun way to get all the student members talking and making valuable connections.