Annual Reports

Each year, ICMSF provides an annual report to the International Union of Microbiological Societies to summarise membership and activities. An example is presented below and selected past reports are provided in PDF format.

Note to IUMS on ICMSF activities (2024)

Membership

In the course of 2024, ICMSF membership increased to 22 ICMSF members and 1 Executive Director residing in 15 different countries. Members were from academia, food industry and governmental organisations. The Commission’s membership, collectively, represented a broad, complementary expertise base in food safety, including risk assessment and risk management, research and innovation, product and process development, public health, agriculture, food technology, quality control, systems thinking and process engineering, capability/capacity building and education.

In this section

Highlights for the reporting period

  • The 57th annual meeting of the Commission was held in March 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya, back-to-back to the 54th annual meeting of the Codex Committee for Food Hygiene (CCFH54), at which ICMSF is represented as an observer organization. ICMSF gratefully recognizes the efforts of local experts in supporting the ICMSF Board dealing with the annual meeting logistics. With support of the Codex Secretariat, ICMSF was able to stage a side event on risk-based Food Safety Management at CCFH54, which was very well attended and much appreciated by CCFH54 delegates. Additionally, an event was organised to exchange views with Nairobi-based competent authorities. During the annual meeting, ICMSF members and consultants reviewed and planned the Commission’s activities, with particular emphasis on the writing of the ICMSF Book9. At ICMSF57, members decided to invite Ellen Evans (UK) and Anett Winkler (Germany) to become new members.
  • Onward from ICMSF57, the Commission consisted of the following members: Marcel Zwietering (Chair), Michelle D. Danyluk (Treasurer), Leon Gorris (Secretary), Wayne Anderson, Lucia Anelich, Mike Batz, Kiran Bhilegaonkar, Suchart Chaven, Martin Cole, Roger Cook, Ratih Dewanti-Hariyadi, John Donaghy, Darrell Donahue, Ellen Evans, Nigel French, Fumiko Kasuga, Bobby Krishna, Peter McClure, Tom Ross, Marta Taniwaki, Jun Wang and Anett Winkler. Jeffrey Farber was the Executive Director.
  • During the year, ICMSF members and consultants were very active individually and as groups in progressing Book 9, developing publications, conferences, workshops and expert meetings.
  • Some notable achievements and recognitions of the membership included:
    • Societal and scientific awards, including The Order of Canada award received by Jeffrey Farber, Leon Gorris receiving the first ever IAFP European Food Safety Award; Michelle Danyluk being named the 2024 Researcher of the Year by the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association; Marcel Zwietering received the Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award; Roger Cook being installed as IAFP Fellow and emeritus ICMSF member Bob Buchanan being awarded the first recipient of the Journal of Food Protection Exceptional Reviewer Award.
    • The contributions of Fumiko Kasuga, Jun Wang, Wayne Anderson, Roger Cook, and Leon Gorris to the proceedings of CCFH54 proceedings and of Lucia Anelich, Marcel Zwietering, Bobby Krishna, Wayne Anderson, Leon Gorris and Peter McClure to the CCFH54 ICMSF side-event and outreach to Nairobi-based competent authorities.
    • Contributions to the Microbiological Risk Assessment reports of JEMRA (the Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment of FAO and WHO) published in 2024 were by Michelle Danyluk (MRA #44) and Kiran Bhilegaonkar (MRA#49).
    • Commission members (John Donaghy, Kiran N. Bhilegaonkar, Lucia Anelich, Wayne Anderson, Peter McClure and Leon Gorris) contributed in-person to the successful 18th Dubai International Food Safety Conference. ICMSF members John Donaghy and LAS-ICMSF members Bernadette Franco, Ana Karina Carrascal Camacho, Francisco J. Garcés-Vega, Miguel Zazopulos, Marta Hiromi Taniwaki, and Maria Isabel Calderón Gabaldón teamed up to stage a dedicated session at IAFP Latino 2024.
  • ICMSF commemorated the passing of two of their very impactful past members, John Christian (09 May 2024) and Terence A. Roberts (04 October 2024), John was ICMSF member from 1971 to 1991 and was ICMSF’s Chairperson from 1980 to 1991. Terry was ICMSF member from 1978 to 2000 and it’s Chairperson from 1991 to 2000.

Note: Information on the Commission and its activities can be found on www.ICMSF.org.

Respectfully submitted,

Leon Gorris, ICMSF Secretary (until 22 March 2024)

Darrell Donahue, ICMSF Secretary (forward from 22 March 2024)

10 December 2024