Dr Barry O'Neil of New Zealand, former president of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming annual meeting of the IPC.

Also, Dr Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization's Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases, will also be among the speakers at the IPC meeting, which will be on 29 to 30 October 2009 at the Quay Grand hotel in Sydney, N.S.W., Australia.

The Australian Chicken Meat Federation will be the host organization for the event.

With more than 20 country members, the four-year-old IPC is the sole international organisation dedicated to global poultry industry issues. Membership is open to poultry meat associations in individual countries; associate membership is available to individual poultry companies and allied businesses.

Dr O'Neil's address is significant, as OIE last year granted formal recognition to the IPC. Recognition is pending with two other international organizations: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Registration fee for the meeting is US$500 (€350), which includes lunches, a group dinner and refreshment breaks.

Registration information is posted on the IPC web site (click here).

For further details, contact Executive Secretary, George Winn ([email protected]) or Toby Moore ([email protected]).