Researchers from Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Senegal sponsored by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety (FSIL) converged at the International Association for Food Protection 17th Dubai International Food Safety Conference. The gathering of more than 3,000 experts from local, regional, and international organizations provided the team with opportunities to share their work, expand their professional network, and learn about the latest advancements in food safety.

FSIL-sponsored researchers in attendance included Shahida Akhter D.V.M., a Ph.D. fellow at Bangladesh Agricultural University; Md. Farid Dewan, a Ph.D. Fellow at Bangladesh Agricultural University and Assistant Professor at Noakhali Science and Technology University; Maroky Diedhiou, an agricultural engineer at Senegal’s National Higher School of Agriculture of Thiès; and Dr. Nkem Torimiro, an Associate Professor and research scientist at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.

“My participation in the International Dubai Food Safety Conference was an exceptional, valuable, and enriching experience,” said Diedhiou. “The knowledge gained, contacts established, and inspiring ideas will serve as essential guides for my future actions in the field of food safety. I am grateful for the opportunity and enthusiastic about contributing further to this crucial cause.”

In her poster presentations, Diedhiou shared results on milk production safety and food safety diagnostics from FSIL’s dairy safety project in Senegal. She appreciated the opportunities it sparked for discussions about shared challenges.

“The poster presentation facilitated fruitful discussions with several participants, providing an opportunity to engage in enriching conversations about the dairy food safety situation in their

respective countries,” she said. “For instance, interacting with representatives from major milk-producing countries such as Pakistan was particularly rewarding, where crucial topics such as the influence of cattle breeds in dairy production and hygiene standards in dairy industries were discussed.”

Dr. Torimiro presented work on the risks of foodborne illness from food contact surfaces in households as part of FSIL’s food safety and nutrition project in Nigeria. She valued the conference’s emphasis on proactive food safety efforts, the power of global collaboration, and the importance of food safety culture in sustainable change.

“There were eminent speakers, engaging conversations, and networking that took place throughout the three-day event,” she said. “One of my key takeaways was that in addressing food safety, a risk-based, evidence-driven, people-centered, forward-looking approach would be more acceptable by the food producer and effective in protecting consumer health.”

For Dewan, who presented findings on consumers’ willingness to pay for safer fish and the economics of safer fish production from the FSIL Bangladesh project, the conference alerted him to the potential impact of interdisciplinary research in food safety.

“As an economist, I didn’t have much knowledge about food safety practices, but this conference broadened my outlook and inspired me to do more integrated research in the future,” he said. “This includes areas such as production, pest and disease control, storage, packaging, marketing, trade facilitation and import control, processing, management and coordination, evaluation through audit and inspection, food waste and loss, antimicrobial resistance, food system sustainability, technology, and innovation.”

Dr. Akhter, who presented on studies of microbial and chemical contamination levels in fish from the FSIL Bangladesh project, was impressed by new food safety technologies covered in the talks, including High-Pressure Processing and Cold Plasma Technology, as well as presentations on Salmonella, pesticide residue removal, and food system sustainability.

“I’m feeling fortunate for getting this wonderful opportunity,” she said. “Especially because it gave me a chance to increase the horizon of my knowledge and mingle with a range of scientists from different cultures across the world.”

Amanda Garris is a communications specialist with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety. The lab is one of more than 20 Innovation Labs with U.S. universities under Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative led by USAID.