International conference on seafood safety, quality and traceability systems to focus on regulation

Fishery Quality Control Center (FQCC) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Wealth, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, will be organising the first international conference on seafood safety, quality and traceability systems (ISSQT-2014), from March 3 to 5 at the Albustan Palace Hotel, Muscat, Oman. Announcing this, the organisers said that the avowed objective of the conference was to profile seafood safety, quality and traceability, provide a forum for those interested in the sector to exchange ideas, foster interaction and professional collaboration among individuals, organisations, and governments, disseminate knowledge about fish, seafood, and fishery products and inspection, promote advancement of fisheries research and education, and to benefit international seafood trade and the scientific community. Keynote speakers from across the world will deliver lectures on relevant topics, FQCC elaborated.

As a forerunner to the conference, a workshop would be conducted from February 23-27 on fish freshness sensory assessment and HACCP advance course and tracebility, FQCC added.

It was inviting proposals for paper and poster presentations, FQCC  revealed, and highlighted that the presentations may be selected from, but not limited to, the list below:

• Seafood safety standards and regulations
• Verification, certification and eco-labelling
• Changes in export requirements
• Post-harvest, safety, quality and traceability
• International traceability requirements
• Detentions and rejections of seafood at borders
• Innovation and novel products  from fresh and marine fish
• Research and development for new product development
• Increasing fish consumption for health
• Effective marketing and communication strategies to raise consumer health
• Seafood value chain
• Residues and contaminants in seafood
• Accelerate knowledge exchange and networking
• Current status of seafood safety, quality and its impact on national economy
• Promoting awareness on the importance of  quality, safety, traceability and public health
• Recent advances in seafood processing and preservation
• Seafood value addition
• Adding value by increasing safety and stability and through packaging innovation
• Consumer demand for value added seafood products
• Risk and Benefits of seafood consumption
• Consumer behaviour on seafood safety and quality
• Seafood zoonoses
• Scientific achievements in seafood technology
• Education and training for seafood industry

The event is reportedly designed to suit the seafood industry, regulatory authorities and students who are working in the field of seafood safety and quality.