The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will host the International Symposium on Food Safety and Control next week to discuss the protection of food control systems, the food supply chain and measures to improve their resilience to food security challenges.
The Summit will open with remarks by IAEA Director General Grossi, followed by a message by Director-General Qu Dongyu of the FAO via live video link.
Nuclear techniques play a vital role in food safety by providing advanced methods for detecting contaminants, controlling food-borne diseases and improving food processing. The Symposium will foster discussions on highlighting the role and comparative advantages of nuclear technologies in food control systems, addressing challenges like climate change and antimicrobial resistance, and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology for food safety.
The Symposium aims to enhance the recognition and adoption of nuclear techniques for food safety, foster collaboration among stakeholders, and increase resilience to disruptions affecting food safety. It will also identify future research directions on the effective use of nuclear technologies in food control systems, improving food security and quality, and promoting robust networks among national, inter-governmental organizations, NGOs, academia and the private sector.
About 450 participants from 112 Member States and 14 international organizations and non-governmental organizations are registered to participate in the event from 27 – 31 May 2024 in the M-Plenary/BR-B/M1 on the first floor of the M-Building of the Vienna International Centre (VIC).
Press Opportunities
The Symposium is open to the media and will be live-streamed from 09:30 CEST onwards. The provisional programme is available here.
Accreditation
All journalists are asked to request accreditation to the conference by emailing the IAEA Press Office at press@iaea.org.