Safety and quality of water use and reuse in the production and processing of dairy products
Wednesday, 07 June 2023
In 2020, the 43rd session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission approved the new work entitled “Development of Guidelines for the Safe Use and Reuse of Water in Food Production” proposed by the 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. To support this work, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) was asked to provide scientific advice regarding safe use and reuse of water in the dairy sector. Dr. Dima participated in the JEMRA experts panel tasked to provide clear and practical guidance on risk-based approaches to assess and manage fit-for-purpose water sourcing, use and reuse in the dairy sector. The collective efforts led to publication of a report that describes the application of the concept of fit-for-purpose water for use in the production and processing of dairy products. Report available in this link: FAO & WHO. 2023. Safety and quality of water use and reuse in the production and processing of dairyproducts – Meeting report. Microbiological Risk Assessment Series, No. 40. Rome, FAO.https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4081en
IAFP 2022 European Symposium – Munich
Monday, 27 June 2022
Dr Faour-Kingbeil was invited to the International Association of Food Protection Annual Meeting, Munich, German, May 4-6, 2022. She joined other experts in the symposium session titled “Safety and Quality of Water Used and Reused in Fresh Produce Supply Chains” to offer a presentation on “Bringing Fit-for-Purpose Applications into Fresh Produce Operations and Managing Control”. Water scarcity is a global issue resulting from diminishing water availability with the increasing water demand, water overuse, pollution, and changes in water availability due to climate change. Industries from all sectors have critical roles in alleviating water scarcity. Particularly the food and agriculture sectors are under the pressure of being the largest consumers of water. Further challenges are read with the rising demands for healthy fresh food and the rapid growth of the ready-to-eat and fresh-cut vegetables markets in the developed economies; Hence, while increasing food production, it is imperative to adopt strategies for efficient water use in the fresh produce industry to conserve water resources and reduce costs and environmental impact of the high volume of generated wastewater. Water reuse is one of the measures deemed appropriate to mitigate high water consumption. It is advocated as a valuable resource by the United Nations World Water Development Report and the circular economy perspective.Ultimately, water quality should fit the purpose it is used for, and recycling or reuse applications will have to consider water suitability which depends on its source. Thus, cross-contamination and recontamination risks are likely to occur without validated and verified control steps, predisposing final products to hazards. This presentation will offer an overview of water reuse in the fresh produce industry, associated risks, and currently applied solutions to prevent cross-contamination. Technological limitations and research needs are also considered. https://www.foodprotection.org/upl/downloads/meeting/program-overview/627e695c45ce4423a221b.pdf
