Effect of Bacteriophages in Reduction of Salmonella on White Meat During Processing

Linda Jackson, Director, Food Risk Forum – Food Focus

Linda has a B.Sc. in chemistry and an M. Tech in environmental health (food safety) Central University of Technology. She has been involved in management system consulting, training and auditing since the early 1990’s, when ISO 9001 was first implemented in the food industry in South Africa. She developed a food safety focus commencing in 2004 when retail food safety audits started. She pioneered formal SAATCA registered training of food safety auditors and was a SAATCA board member.

She has held Lead auditor status with SAATCA in food safety and auditor status for quality management systems. Linda has provided successful assistance to more than 30 organizations in their achievement of management system certification in quality and food safety. She has conducted numerous training courses on HACCP, FSSC 22000 and internal auditing. Linda is the co-founder of Food Focus, a company which aims to educate on the subject of food compliance, supporting everyone across the length of the food chain. Her passion and current field of study is food safety culture.

Najib Salim, Sherq Executive, RCL FOODS

Najib holds a national higher qualification in food technology and packaging technology and has 15 years’ experience in the FMCG industry. She has further enhanced her knowledge base by obtaining an advanced business management degree and Master of Science in Strategic supply chain management.

Najib is currently employed as the executive of safety, health, environment, risk, quality and food safety at RCL FOODS. Najib’s knowledge includes, but is not limited to, expertise across the food and beverage industry within the red meat, poultry, produce, cereals and grains that extends across multiple food process technologies. Najib also adds value to the strategy, design and implementation process as well as training and development in the food safety and security space. She has worked within the FMCG sector as a technical specialist, providing training, consultancy and auditing services related to quality and food safety.

Prof. Frank Devlieghere, Research Unit Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Dept Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bio-Science Engineering, Ghent University

Prof. Frank Devlieghere (1968) holds an academic position as Full Professor at Ghent University since 2003 in the area of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation at the Faculty of Bio-Science Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium. His laboratory (Food Microbiology and Food Preservation) focuses on answering to societal challenges regarding worldwide safe food and food waste by creating quantitative and qualitative insights in the behavior of micro-organisms (pathogens and spoilage) in the entire food chain (from farm to fork).

His work focuses on microbial aspects of food preservation and has four main topics: (1) mild food preservation, (2) mechanisms of microbial food spoilage, (3) predictive microbiology and (4) microbial aspects of food packaging. In the framework of the first topic, the use of phagues as a preservation technique has been a research topic.

Throughout his career, Prof. Devlieghere has published more than 320  peer-reviewed scientific papers in the field of food microbiology, authored several book chapters and presented at numerous international conferences/workshops. For a full list of publications, refer to https://biblio.ugent.be/person/801000909433

Prof. Pieter Gouws, Professor - Food Microbiology, Director – Centre for Food Safety, Department of Food Science, Stellenbosch University

Prof. Pieter Gouws is a professor of food microbiology in the Department of Food Science at Stellenbosch University, and vice dean of teaching and learning at the faculty of AgriSciences. He had spent some time as an international research fellow at the University of Nottingham, studying the effects of PCR inhibitors in complex food samples.

Prof. Gouws is also the South African representative on the International Commission of Food Microbiology and Hygiene (2008 to present). His current research interests focus on novel and innovative applications for the detection and control of unwanted bacteria in food, improvement of food safety and food quality, novel processing technologies and antibiotic resistance of foodborne bacteria. He is the author of various scientific papers and trains undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of food microbiology and food safety. He is also the director of the Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University.

Izaak Breitenbach, General Manager, Broiler Organisation, South African Poultry Association

Izaak Breitenbach heads up the Broiler Organisation of the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), an organisation that represents the interests of the wider poultry industry. Breitenbach grew up in the poultry industry in South Africa, starting his career in a poultry genetics company, Ross Poultry Breeders. While with Ross (Aviagen), he spent several years in the United Kingdom as business manager for Eastern and Western Europe, and later as technical manager for Aviagen Ltd globally outside of the Americas.

Over time he served as managing director in a number of poultry companies, including Ross Poultry Breeders, Supreme Poultry and Day Break Farms. Breitenbach’s interest in the bigger poultry picture saw him gain experience in the feed industry, managing the food processing division for Afgri Ltd, which included companies such as Afgri Animal Feeds, Needan Oils, and Afgri Milling Maize and Soya, among others. He later started his own consulting business and consulted for clients across Africa and the Middle East. In his current role at SAPA, he manages the broiler division, but also focuses on trade matters and trade relations to improve the trade environment for the poultry industry in South Africa.