Technology and food safety were the name of the game at the 11th Annual Dubai International Food Safety Conference, which took place November 19-21, 2017 at the World Trade Centre in Dubai. The three-day event brings together the best minds in food safety from the Gulf Region and around the world. Eat Well Global was honored to be asked to be the voice of nutrition, as the worlds of food safety and nutrition dovetail. As Founding Partner, Julie Meyer, RDN, in her presentation “How Big Data Informs Nutrient Intake and Can Encourage Healthy Change” joked, “food safety is about preventing people from eating things that kill them quickly while public health nutrition is about preventing people from eating things that will kill them slowly”

Big data and technology ruled the first day where the Dubai Municipality rolled out their Food Watch initiative. A food safety and nutritional information platform, including a consumer-facing app, is designed to promote traceability for food safety outbreaks as well as keep track of nutrition information in more than 20,000 outlets throughout the emirate. Food Watch is unique in its scale and scope and could be a role model for municipalities throughout the world.

Other topics tackled throughout the event included strategic initiatives in support of the Dubai 2020 World Expo, education needs for food professionals, role of social media and communication in food safety and Dubai’s role in . The event included an extra level of engagement as a fictional “outbreak” started on day 1 for event participants to compete in resolving by the end. The good news is that all went well and no one was too sick! For more on the conference, go to www.foodsafetydubai.com.