KINGSTON, R.I. — September 13, 2000 — The University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension and the Rhode Island Food Safety Task force will celebrate National Food Safety Education Month with their seventh annual food safety education conference on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Warwick from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The conference is designed to train food industry workers, students, and food safety educators in current issues and practices related to food safety. The event is cosponsored by Johnson and Wales University, the R.I. Food Dealers Association, the R.I. Hospitality and Tourism Association, the R.I. Department of Health, and the R.I. Department of Education. The keynote speaker is Robert J. Howard, special assistant for strategic health communications at the National Centers for Infectious Diseases. Howard’s topic will be “Train to Gain – Getting it Right.” He will provide participants with information and resources on food safety training techniques that affect positive food safety behavior. Other speakers and their topics: Albert Kawsch, director of HybriGene, LLC, “Biotechnology and genetically modified foods”; Dr. Ernest Julian, chief of the Division of Food Protection at the R.I. Department of Health, “State of the Plate: Current R.I. food safety issues”; and Peter Lord, environmental reporter at the Providence Journal, “The media as a food safety education tool.” The conference will conclude with a panel discussion addressing the best practices in food safety and methods of reaching diverse audiences. The cost of the conference is $20 per person, and participants qualify for continuing education credits. For more information or to register for the conference, contact Martha Patnoad at 401-874-2960 or mpatnoad@uri.edu or Lori Pivarnik at 401-874-2972 or pivarnik@uri.edu. For Information: Martha Patnoad 874-2960, Todd McLeish 874-7892