Programme
Proposed Outline
The proposed programme will include 2-days for Young Scientists and 2-days for the AOAC Africa Conference.
We encourage all participants to attend the full Thursday and Friday sessions to give all our speakers the opportunity to present to the full delegation. The conference will end with our to-be-expected amazing closing dinner at the Olympus Sky Bar at Emperors Palace – always an event not to be missed.
| Time | Description | Speaker |
| 11:00 | Registration for Young Scientist Conference Opens | Marcia Room |
| 12:30 | Opening Session (this will be in the Galleria Lunch venue) | Dr Owen Fraser, President AOAC Africa |
| 13:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | Visit to National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) | Young Scientists Only |
| 18:30 | Social event at Tribes Restaurant, Emperors Palace | Young Scientists & AOAC Africa Board |
Tribes Restaurant @ Emperors
VENUE: MARCIA ROOM @ EMPERORS PALACE
| Time | Description | Details/Speaker |
| 08:30 | Delegates Arrival & Registration | |
| Opening Session | ||
| 09:00 | Welcome and Opening | Dr Owen Fraser, AOAC Africa President |
| 09:10 | Opening Remarks | Dr Blaise Ouattara, FAO |
| 09:20 | Framing Remarks | Anselm Riungu, SGS |
| Session 1 | ||
| 09:30 | Addressing emerging and future issues that will impact AOAC Africa‘s Young Scientists now, in the near and mid horizon future | Dr Owen Fraser, AOAC Africa, response by Anselm Riungu, SGS |
| 09:45 | Mentoring a next generation of scientists challenges and opportunities | Prof. Lise Korsten, University of Pretoria |
| 10:00 | Panel Discussion | Prof. Lise Korsten; Anselm Riungu, Dr Blaise Ouattara |
| 10:30 | Refreshment Break & Group Photo | |
| Session 2 – Food Safety challenges, current and emerging food safety issues | ||
| 11:30 | PFAS – from ppb to ppq quantitation – getting ready for the 2035 ban proposed by the European Union | Volker Kruft, Sciex |
| 11:45 | Microplastics in food – emerging concerns within marine food sources | Tameka Taylor, Morgan State University |
| 12:00 | Monitoring Antimicrobial resistance in agricultural environmental settings | Dr Loandi Richter, University of Pretoria |
| 12:15 | Question & Answer Session | All presenters |
| 12:45 | Lunch | |
| Session 3 – Food Safety challenges, current and emerging food safety issues (cont.) | ||
| 14:00 | Targeted proteomics: an emerging technique in food safety and authenticity | Dr Karim Dhanani, Facts SA |
| 14:15 | Emerging trends in nutrition science | Mark Hollingsworth, The Nutrition Society |
| 14:30 | Ethics in Analytical Science | Tameka Taylor, Morgan State University |
| 14:45 | Question & Answer Session | All presenters |
| 15:15 | Refreshment Break | Anselm Riungu |
| 16:00 | Action Points & Manifesto | Anselm Riungu |
| 16:30 | AOAC Africa Conference official Exhibitor Welcoming Reception | Assembly Room II |
VENUE – ASSEMBLY ROOMS
| Time | Description | Speaker |
| 08:00 | Registration opens | |
| 09:00 | Welcome Address | Dr Owen Fraser, President AOAC Africa |
| 09:30 | Declaration from the Youth Conference | Anselm Riungu, SGS |
| SESSION 1: The broader context around Safe and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: AOAC Africa’s role in in meeting the challenges | Chair: John Bee | |
| 10:00 | The macro environment: economic and social challenges in Africa related to food safety, their relevance to analytical capacity and vice-versa | Dr Eve Gadzikwa, SADCAS / Dr Blaise Ouattara, FAO-RAF |
| Ndwakhulu Mukhufhi, NMISA / Margie Lungu, PAQI | ||
| Francis Juma, Food Safety Africa | ||
| 11:00 | Contextualising to analytical capacity on the continent – the Laboratory Performance Benchmarking Program (LPBP) outcomes in detail | Dr Maria Fernandes-Whaley, NMISA |
| 11:30 | Refreshment Break & Exhibitor Networking | |
| SESSION 2: Ethics in analytical science in Africa | ||
| 11:45 | Ethics in science – overview perspective from Nutrition Society | Mark Hollingsworth, The Nutrition Society |
| 12:00 | Laboratory Accreditation Standards in Africa | Dr Eve Gadzikwa, SADCAS |
| 12:15 | Question & Answer Session | All |
| 12:45 | Exhibitor Networking | |
| 13:30 | Lunch | The Galleria |
| SESSION 3: Analytical Method Alignment, Laboratory Standards and Performance | ||
| 14:30 | Analytical method development, scope extension & alignment needs | Dr Liberty Sibanda, Randox |
| 14:45 | Meeting the standard –ISO/IEC 17025:2017 | Roselinda Kisero, Larbcorpt Testing Laboratories LTD |
| 15:00 | ISO 16140-3:2021 & Microbiological methods verification | DeAnn Benesh, Neogen |
| 15:15 | Question & Answer Session |
All |
| 15:30 | Refreshment Break & Exhibitor Networking | |
| SESSION 3: Analytical Method Alignment, Laboratory Standards and Performance (cont.) | ||
| 16:00 | Lab accreditation, consistency of interpretation | Gregory West, International Accreditation Service Inc. |
| 16:15 | Beyond laboratory QMS – achieving and sustaining laboratory standards and performance by design | Dr Eve Gadzikwa, SADCAS |
| 16:30 | Establishing Working Groups around priority topics | Dr Erin Crowley, Q-Laboratories |
| 16:45 | What are the challenges in lab standard performance and method alignment and how do we overcome it – an open discussion | John Bee + All presenters |
| 17:30 | Close of Day 1 – Free Evening | |
Day 2 – AOAC Africa 4th Annual Conference 2023
| Time | Description | Speaker |
| 08:30 | Contextual session giving evolution of trade in African ingredients and foodstuffs, rejection levels from ARSO, AfCFTA |
Dr Hermogene Nsenginama, ARSO |
| SESSION 4: Key Analytical areas | ||
| 08:45 | Climate change and impact on mycotoxins occurrence and detection and emergency of diseases | Prof. Mulunda Mwanza, North-West University |
| 09:00 | Explaining the inaction regarding the management of fumonisin contamination in Sub-Saharan Africa | Prof. Limbikani Matumba, (Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| 09:15 | Optimization of aflatoxin detection methods in dried fish | Prof. Mulunda Mwanza, North-West University |
| 09:30 | Emerging challenges for heavy metal determination in foods – increase need for speciation | |
| 09:45 | Question & Answer Session | All presenters |
| 10:00 | Refreshment Break & Exhibitor Networking | |
| 10:30 | Microbiology – working in a constantly variable microbial world | Prof. Lucia Anelich, Anelich Consulting |
| 10:55 | Nutritional composition – quantification of sugars & sweeteners in foods | Dr Averalda van Graan, SAFOODS & Dr Bianca van der Westhuizen, Nutrition Society of South Africa |
| 11:10 | Dietary supplements and indigenous remedies – analytical challenges & solutions |
Prof. David Katerere, Tshwane University of Technology |
| 11:25 | Questions & Answer Session | All presenters |
| SESSION 5: Innovations in analytical methodologies | ||
| 11:30 | Nucleic acid as target for microbiological analysis | Dr Millan Patel, Pathogen DX |
| 11:45 | Regulatory challenges | DeAnn Benesh, Neogen |
| 12:00 | Food Safety Risk and Compliance tracking Database for Africa – Federated Early warning system and establishing a public platform to inform policy development: AOAC Africa as major contributor | Winta Sintayehu, African Union |
| 12:15 | Question & Answer Session | All presenters |
| 12:30 | Exhibitor Networking | |
| 13:00 | Lunch | |
| SESSION 6: Immediate future challenges and opportunities relating to Safe and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: AOAC Africa’s role in in meeting the challenges | ||
| 14:00 | Environmental testing and its role in improved management of food loss and waste | Prof. Lise Korsten, University of Pretoria |
| 14:15 | Food adulteration, food fraud and testing for food authenticity | Arne Dübecke, TCF² |
| 14:30 | African novel ingredients – food safety risk assessment, analytical challenges and regulatory considerations | Reuben Gisore, ARSO |
| 14:45 | Question & Answer Session | All presenters |
| 15:00 | Refreshment Break & Exhibitor Networking | |
| 15:30 | Is Africa ready for Laboratory 4.0? What does it look like? What are the benefits? | Wesley Feldmann, Lablink |
| 15:30 | The laboratory we want for Africa – Safe and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: the role of the African analytical community in meeting the challenges | Louis van Huyssteen, Microsep, Clemens Aepli, H.Ludi, Dr Owen Fraser, GoBiosis |
| 16:30 | Summary / Key outtakes and action points | John Bee / Rapporteurs |
| 17:00 | Closing Session | Dr Owen Fraser |
| 17:15 | Close of Conference | |
| 15:30 | Official Conference Closing Dinner | Olympus Sky Bar, Emperors Palace |
Olympus Sky Bar @ Emperors