Commenting on IH&RA�s decision to put its weight behind the event, chief executive Ken Hine said: �Escalating consumer demands are putting pressure on the food chain and raising the risk of food scares triggered by food-borne bacteria.  The problem is not restricted to national boundaries, which has made awareness of these issues a management priority for hospitality businesses across the globe.�

The driving force behind �Hygieneomics 99� is Dr. Graeme Armstrong, senior vice-president, research and development at DiverseyLever. �Intensive media attention and advancing legislation have forced hygiene and food safety issues onto the board agenda, and corporate managers need new tools to control the complex situation,� he said.  The conference will underline the link between food safety practices and brand value, pointing out the business benefits to be gained by use of improved hygiene and food safety to enhance consumer confidence in brands.  �Food safety should be seen not as a cost but as an investment in the long-term viability of the brand,� believes Armstrong.

By creating a �Hygieneomic framework�, various functions and processes will be integrated into a total management system for excellence in hygiene and food safety control.  Aimed at senior corporate management, the conference also aims to cut through the complexity of current hygiene standards, which number a staggering 800 worldwide in addition to the increasingly used HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) approach.  Armstrong hopes the event will lead to the creation of �one over-arching global Hygieneomic standard�, with guidelines for its implementation.

The IH&RA�s recently published �Trends, Challenges, Opportunities : A Global Study of the Casual Theme Restaurant Industry� outlined the implications of current consumer trends.  According to co-author of the report Michael Olsen, IH&RA director of research and professor of hospitality strategic management at Virginia Tech, consumer concern over the safety of the food chain is one of the most important forces shaping the long-term viability and growth of the food service sector.

�Today, partly because of the food incidents which have hit the headlines, consumers are better informed than ever and exercise greater discrimination when it comes to choosing where or what they eat,� he said.  �The consumers of the future will expect to see demonstrable action on the part of food service operators to provide them with products and services that will not put them in a personal risk position.  They will not accept cosmetic attempts to guarantee their safety.�

IH&RA is also sponsoring the International Food Safety Congress 2000. Organised by the International Food Safety Council, in partnership with IH&RA, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) of America and its Educational Foundation, the conference will highlight food safety as a global priority, focusing in particular on the importance of food safety training.

Said Ken Hine, �Every effort must be made to move the industry forward in the area of food safety.  These two milestone events are a sign of the importance of the issue, and of the need to take a proactive stance to manage it.�

For further information on Hygienomics and the International Food Safety Congress, contact Nicola Pogson, IH&RA, phone: (33 1) 44 89 94 00, fax: (33 1) 40 36 73 30, e-mail: [email protected].  

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is a global network of independent and chain operators, national associations, hospitality suppliers and educational centres in the hotel and restaurant industry in more than 150 countries.  As the voice of the industry it represents, protects, promotes and informs its members to enable them to achieve their objectives.