19th annual Guelph Food Safety Seminars (GFSS) Symposium Session 2: Waste Not; Want Not: Food Diversion at Its Finest

19th annual Guelph Food Safety Seminars (GFSS) Symposium

Session 2: Waste Not; Want Not: Food Diversion at Its Finest

Speakers:

Rescuing Food to Feed Communities

Millions of pounds of good, nutritious food go to landfill every year in Canada, when it could instead be used to feed communities in need. In this session, you will learn to:

• Understand food rescue as a solution to food waste
• Identify sources of, and how to access, rescued food
• Recognize unique challenges in working with rescued food
• Apply best practices when rescuing food for your organization

Krish Thayalan, Manager, Education & Training, Second Harvest

Krish is the Manager, Training & Education at Second Harvest. Their background in nutrition & public health, food systems, and food justice brought them to Second Harvest where they now work to promote Second Harvest’s 3 pillars of: food waste prevention, food safety, and food literacy.

Their interests lie in the intersection between environmental sustainability and health promotion, feeding into Second Harvest’s dual vision of “No waste, No hunger.”

Today Krish is happy to share their expertise around rescuing food, its unique food safety challenges, and how to tackle them.

Requirements and Best Practices: A Legislative Lens for Repurposed Foods

Food served to the public is strictly regulated, but how are repurposed foods controlled to prevent disease and illness while meeting local needs? This presentation will discuss:

• The Acts, Regulations, and Guidelines that govern food safety in Ontario Food Banks
• Roles & powers of Public Health Inspectors
• Red flags and public health concerns with inappropriately repurposed foods
• Real life examples from the field
• Best practices and recommendations

Deborah Ng, Public Health Inspector, Environmental Health, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health

Deborah Ng is a Public Health Inspector for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. She has had diverse inspection and regulatory experience in food safety, water safety, and infection control across Ontario since 2018 with Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit and Porcupine Health Unit. After inspecting rural communities with unique needs and limited supports, she found the need to continually develop clearer guidance to reduce barriers to food safety. She holds a BASc in Environmental Health from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a B.Sc in Health Studies, Health Informatics Option from University of Waterloo.

Moderators:

Michelle J. Martin, Manager, Health Protection Division, Durham Region Health Department and GFSS Organizing Committee Member

Paul Medeiros, Manager, Environmental Health, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health and GFSS Organizing Committee Member