Tuesday, 25th November
• Opening lecture: Overview on rapid methods, automation and miniaturization in microbiology (Dr. José Juan Rodríguez Jerez, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra –Cerdanyola del Vallès–, Barcelona) 10:15-11:35 a.m.
– Sampling of solid and liquid foods, surfaces, and air
– Miniaturization: microtiter plate, most probable number (MPN), viable cell counts. Diagnostic kits
– Methods for viable cell counts: hydrophobic grid, spiral plating, flow cytometry, direct epifluorescence filter technique (DEFT), turbidity
– Methods for viable cell counts, based on electric impedance and conductance
– Methods for viable cell counts, based on ATP – bioluminiscence and colorimetry
– Immunological methods for microbial and toxin detection and identification: immunomagnetic separation, ELISA and ELFA, reversed passive latex agglutination, lateral immunomigration, immunoprecipitation
– Molecular biology methods for microbial detection and identification: hybridization (DNA and rRNA probes), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA and rRNA characterization (fingerprinting, riboprinting), sequencing, proteomics
• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and massive genome sequencing applied to food safety (Dr. Armand Sánchez Bonastre, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra –Cerdanyola del Vallès–, Barcelona) 11:50 a.m.-1:10 p.m.
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in the food industry. From laboratory to production (Dr. Beatriz Quintanilla Casas, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark) 5:45-6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 26th November
• Microbiological stability and shelf-life studies: adapting to new consumer trends (Ms. Laura Verdú Ortiz, AINIA,centro tecnológico, Paterna, Valencia) 12:15-1 p.m.
• Food alerts, pathogenic microorganisms and risk assessment (Dr. Javier Pérez de Juan, Centro Nacional de Tecnología y Seguridad Alimentaria –CNTA–, San Adrián, Navarra) 5:15-6 p.m.
• Open discussion about risks: analysis, assessment, communication (chairman: Dr. José Martínez Peinado, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid) 6-6:30 p.m.
Thursday, 27th November – Thanksgiving day
• The future of the application of microbiome knowledge in the agri-food chain (Dr. Daniel Ramón Vidal, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Valencia) 12:05-1:05 p.m.
• Listeria in the food industry: new species, new methods and new regulation (Mr. David Tomás Fornés, Working Group on Standardisation in food chain microbiology, Valencia) 5:15-6 p.m.
• Open discussion about instrumentation in food microbiology, world trade trends, and other current topics (chairman: Dr. José Juan Rodríguez Jerez, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra –Cerdanyola del Vallès–, Barcelona) 6-6:30 p.m.