In its seventh edition, the Food Chain Conference will take a close look at the upstream links of the cold chain, as well.

Riding high on the encouraging response to Food Chain Doha in 2013, CPI Industry, the producers of the event and the publishers of Climate Control Middle East, the only HVAC industry-centric magazine in the Middle East, will once again bring the highly successful and respected franchise to the peninsula, on September 29 and 30, at Hilton Doha.

During its seventh edition, Food Chain Doha 2014 will look to build on the food safety-related discussions that transpired in the previous year, revisit the insights and recommendations that emerged and action taken on them, and bring to the fore several other critical topics that need heightened attention from key food safety stakeholders.

According to the producers, the broad objective of this edition is to further the cause of cold chain infrastructure in Qatar, and focus on its impact on the health and well-being of the greater public. The objective is said to be in line with the development ideals of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Following the franchise’s tradition of building country-specific knowledge-base on the best possible approaches to preservation of temperature-sensitive food products, Food Chain Doha 2014 aims to disseminate valuable information to contribute to ensuring food safety, quality assurance and store profitability.

Below is a list of the broad rubrics of the topics that the event intends to explore:

• Progress made on standards, regulations and codes
• Inspection procedures, profiling common food safety violations and corrective measures
• Building and enhancing upstream cold chain infrastructure in the country
• Best practices in handling and storage in supermarkets
• Common violations related to goods in transit
• Farm-to-fork best practices in Australia
• Food security and cold chain management
• Consumer behaviour and food safety culture
• Food safety training
• Testing and certification

Marquee speakers

The response of vital industry entities to Food Chain Doha 2014 is rousing. As per the information at the time of going to the press, Food Chain Doha 2014 is set to see key presentations from the Doha Municipality, Dubai Municipality, Campden BRI, Taylor Shannon International (TSI), Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance, The Three Factors Company, Al Hoty-Stanger Laboratories, Boecker and Meat and Livestock Australia, RMK-The Experts, Carrefour (Qatar Kuwait & Bahrain) and Crompton Catering and Support Services.

In addition to the above-mentioned confirmed participants, the event is also expected to attract participation from other municipalities, including Al Rayyan Municipality, Al Wakrah Municipality, Umm Salal Municipality, Al Shamal Municipality, Al Khor Municipality and Al Daayen Municipality.

Some of the speakers to watch out for at Food Chain Doha 2014 are:

• Wassan Abdulla, Al-Baker, Manager, Food Safety & Environmental Health Public Health Dept., Supreme Council of Health
• Mohammed Ahmed Yousef Alsayed, Head of the Health Control Section at Doha Municipality
• Dr Shady Salah Zeyadah, Food Consultant to Doha Municipality
• Richard Sprenger, Chairman of Highfield Middle East and Asia Awarding Body for Compliance
• Ghaleb Abusaa, refrigeration expert and the CEO of The Three Factors Company (en3 Solutions)
• Anton Alldrick, Special Projects Manager (Science Division), Campden BRI
• Joanne Taylor, Director, UAE Training and Research, TSI
• Rafik Al Khatib, Managing Director, RMK-The Experts
• Nourredine Ammar, Quality & Hygiene Manager, Carrefour Qatar, Kuwait & Bahrain
• Jamie Ferguson, Regional Manager, MENA, Meat and Livestock Australia
• Bobby Krishna Thulasi, Principal Food Safety Officer, Dubai Municipality
• Christopher Rajamani, Technical and Business Development Manager, Al Hoty-Stanger Laboratories
• Mathew Varghese, Associate Director, Crompton Catering and Support Services Co
• Hala Makhoul Ward, Group Food Safety Manager, Boecker Public Health

For more information on the event, visit its official website at: cpi-industry.com/events/foodchain/doha

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