In late 2016, the IFSH HTS Initiative (IHTSI) established an industry advisory committee with the participation of eight representatives from the food industry. The IHTSI Industry Advisory Committee (IIAC) now has more than 32 representatives from 19 food companies, trade unions and associations. In addition to IIAC, the IHTSI started the IHTSI Industry-Governmental Agencies Council (IIGAC) composed of a subcommittee of IIAC and representatives from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Since its inception, IHTSI has organized five IIGAC meetings, where the representatives from the agencies and the industry have met and discussed the issues and obstacles that prevent the full implementation of the new technology and its use in food safety inspections, investigations and assurances.
If you are interested in joining our IIAC, please contact the IHTSI leader and Research Assistant Professor, Dr. Behzad Imanian : bimanian@iit.edu or call: 708-563-8171 for more information.
The IHTSI is also active in educational events and training programs. Since its start in 2016, the IHTSI has organized annual HTS symposiums and workshops to promote the use and implementation of HTS technology in our food safety system. For further information please see the Events, where you can find the links to the presentations in our previous symposiums.
Key Staff Members and Contact Information
Behzad Imanian
Research Assistant Professor, Leader of IFSH High Throughput Sequencing, IIT
708-563-8171
bimanian@iit.edu
Renmao Tian
Research Scientist Microbial Genomics, IFSH High-Throughput Sequencing, IIT
708.563.8169
rtian@iit.edu