Succesfully concluded the 7th European Short-Course on "Quality & Safety of Freh-Cut Produce"

About 70 participants from 9 Countries throughout Europe met last week in Cardiff, UK for the important educational event in the fresh-cut industry organized by Cardiff University, in cooperation with the University of Foggia (Italy), Cranfield University and University of Reading. As in the last edition, the 3-day (21 to 23th January) course closed with a collective session on ?Future R&D needs in fresh-cut products? and the award of the certificates. ?A very interesting and stimulating experience, I am very glad I had a chance to host this course in UK? said the convener of the event Dr. Hilary Rogers (Cardiff University) ?participants enjoyed state-of-the-art presentations on a wide range of key topics related to quality & safety procedures in fresh-cut fruit and vegetable processing?. Unit operations, processing plant design, effects of pre-harvest factors, microbiological testing, plant and worker sanitation, modified atmosphere packaging, were just a few of the topics covered by top instructors from UK, Italy, US, Spain and Israel. The seventh edition of the short-course was also enriched by QUAFETY updates: highly focused 15-minute presentations by scientists from the EC-funded Project QUAFETY (www.quafety.eu) who took this opportunity to present their latest results to the fresh-cut industry and scientific community. ?QUAFETY represented an added-value to the Cardiff short-course in terms of scientific contents delivered by its researchers? said Prof. Giancarlo Colelli, Coordinator of European Project and co-organizer of the Course, ?and I am particularly happy for the outcomes as it is not easy to include basic scientific topics within a training event?. The itinerant format allows for a wide dissemination of the newest innovation in the fresh-cut sector, reaching for a more diverse audience every year. From the first edition in Bari (Italy) in 2007, the Course has been held in Cordoba and Almeria (Spain), Mesagne (Italy), Berlin (Germany), and Antalya (Turkey) involving more than 700 representatives from processors, suppliers, students, and academics throughout Europe. Pictures show the participants in the Course and the organizators. ?