GovWire

Background information

The Government Chemist Conference will take place on 20-21 June 2023 at the Royal Society of Chemistry, London as an in-person event. Remote attendance will be possible for those that cannot attend in person.

The backdrop for the conference is how current geo-political, environmental and economic conditions are creating escalating challenges for global food security. During the event, speakers will provide industrial, regulatory and academic perspectives on the current position and discuss how scientific and technological approaches can underpin effective solutions to these challenges.

Julian Braybrook, Government Chemist will host the conference. The conference keynote lecture for Day 1 (20 June) will be given by Henry Dimbleby, Lead non-executive board member, Defra, and Lead author of the National Food Strategy.

Guy Poppy, Deputy Executive Chair of BBSRC, will open Day 2 (21 June) of the conference with a keynote lecture.

The event includes a deep-dive session on food crime jointly organised by the National Food Crime Unit and the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit.

The full programme is being finalised and updates will be posted regularly. There will be opportunities to network over lunch as well as at the conference dinner on 20 June.

The Government Chemist conference has been a regular event for the last twenty years. It provides an opportunity for communities in the fields of food safety, authenticity, security and sustainability to come together to discuss global threats and challenges, and to explore opportunities to ensure food security for tomorrows world.

In person attendance at the event is encouraged. However, the event will also be available online for those that cannot physically attend; remote participants will be able to attend the lectures and panel sessions and forward questions to the speakers but will not be able to participate in the deep-dive session on food crime.

Event details

• Date: 20-21 June 2023

• Venue: Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Picadilly, London W1J 0BA

• Cost:

  • In person event: 150/day
  • Conference dinner: 70
  • Online event 100/day

Programme

Please note that the programme and information about the speakers will be updated regularly.

20 June, Session 1: Drivers for a resilient official food control system

• Welcome address by the Government Chemist, Julian Braybrook

• Keynote lecture Henry Dimbleby MBE, Defra

• Overview of recent referee cases- Paul Hancock, LGC

• Implications and opportunities on the EU revocation bill (sunset bill) - Jessica Burt, Food Law Group

20 June, Session 2: Authentic and safe food

• NFCU and SFCIU Deep Dive. The National Food Crime Unit and the Scottish Food Crime and Incident Unit would like to invite delegates to participate in a highly interactive session

• TBC - Defra

• TBC - Geoff Ogle, CEO, FSS

• TBC - Kate Hargreaves, Head of Strategy, FSA

• TBC - Association of Public Analysts

• Panel session on sustainability in food production panel members to be confirmed

21 June, Session 3: New and emerging technologies

• Keynote lecture Guy Poppy, UKRI

• Overview of FAO report: Thinking about the future of food safety Vittorio Fattori, FAO

• Review of alternative proteins - Rosario Romero, Fera

• Cell culture meat production - Petra Hanga, Quest Meat

• Mapping the worlds soya production to protect our rainforests Brian Quinn, Queens University Belfast

21 June, Session 4: Solutions to challenges in food production

• TBC - Andrew Clark, National Farmers Union

• Traceability of gene edited products in the food supply chain Malcolm Burns, LGC

• Sustainable food production - solutions and mitigation of challenges from an academic perspective Louise Manning, University of Lincoln

• Aquaculture - Michele Stanley, SAMS

• Vertical farming - innovative solutions for sustainable farming James Lloyd Jones, Jones food company

View the original news story