The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) 2023 Annual Meeting was held July 16–19 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and hosted more than 3,200 registered attendees representing 53 countries, 48 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and seven Canadian provinces.

IAFP 2023’s program featured a record of more than 1,200 presentations including 71 symposia, 25 roundtable sessions, 16 technical sessions, and more than 800 poster presentations. Most sessions were recorded and are available to all registered attendees as well as those who could not attend. Representatives from 154 companies showcased equipment and the latest innovations in food safety services through presentations on the show floor.

Monday’s agenda included the “Canadian Regulatory Update on Food Safety” session, followed by a late breaking session, titled, “Current U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Priorities." On Wednesday afternoon, the John H. Silliker Lecture was on “Food Safety with Purpose: Reflection, Execution and Foresight.”

Wednesday night’s Awards Banquet honored excellence in food safety by recognizing 29 individuals and organizations with awards. At the conclusion of their 2023 Annual Meeting, Tim Jackson, Ph.D. officially assumed the presidency of IAFP.

Dr. Jackson is a Senior Science Advisor for Food Safety with FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), which he joined in 2022. In this role, he supports programs related to foodborne illness outbreak investigations, root cause analysis, and outbreak prevention strategies.

From 2017–2021, Dr. Jackson served as Vice President of Food Safety, Regulatory, and Social Compliance for Driscoll’s North American and South American divisions. He previously served as the Director of Food Safety for Nestlé U.S. and Nestlé Canada from 2009–2017. Between 1998 and 2003, he also headed the Nestlé Quality Assurance Microbiology Laboratories for the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, from 2004–2008, he was Chief Industrial Microbiologist for Nestlé’s global operations in Vevey, Switzerland.

Dr. Jackson has been actively involved in IAFP since joining the association in 1990 as a graduate student. He has participated in and led several professional development groups, and has organized, convened, and presented at IAFP’s Annual Meeting, IAFP’s European Symposium on Food Safety, and other international and affiliate meetings. Dr. Jackson previously served as IAFP President from 2019–2020, and was chosen as IAFP President-Elect 2023–2024 to fill the position due to the resignation of Jose Emilio Esteban, Ph.D. from the IAFP Executive Board.

Dr. Jackson received his B.S. in Biology from Abilene Christian University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Texas A&M University.

In addition to Dr. Jackson, other members of the Executive Board include:

• President-Elect—Mark Carter, MC Squared, Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Vice President—Manpreet Singh, Ph.D., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
• Secretary—Manan Sharma, Ph.D., USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Beltsville, Maryland
• Past President—Michelle Danyluk, Ph.D., University of Florida, Lake Alfred, Florida
• Affiliate Council Chair—Fabiana Guglielmone, Unilever, Buenos Aires, Argentina