KINGSTON, R.I. – October 6, 2010 – Preventing food-borne illness is an increasingly challenging undertaking for schools, non-profits, festival organizers, and food service professionals. That’s why the University of Rhode Island’s Cooperative Extension and the Rhode Island Food Safety Task Force are offering their 16th annual food safety conference to address this vitally important topic.

The conference will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 26 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 2081 Post Rd., Warwick. The program targets individuals who are responsible for food safety education and training, nutritionists and dieticians, school nurses, and food service professionals throughout the region.

“Providing food safety education to employees in all positions is essential in order to reduce the risk of food-borne illness,” said Martha Patnoad, URI food safety education specialist and coordinator of the conference. “It is also essential to understand the nature of the adult learner in order to ensure that food safety training is put into practice.”

Speakers at the conference include Ernie Julian, chief of the Office of Food Protection at the Rhode Island Department of Health, whose presentation is entitled “The State of the Plate,” and Nancy Bull, vice provost at the University of Connecticut, whose keynote address will focus on how to train adult learners.

A panel discussion on best practices in employee food safety education will feature speakers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dave’s Marketplace, the Rhode Island Hospitality Education Foundation, and Daniele, Inc.

Registration fee for the conference is $25. To register, visit www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/foodsafety.shtml. For more information, contact Martha Patnoad at 401-874-2960 or Lori Pivarnik at 401-874-2972.