Symposium Introduction pubs.acs.org/JAFC
50th Anniversary of the Florida Pesticide Residue Workshop and the Birth of the North American Chemical Residue Workshop ABSTRACT: The papers in this special issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry were originally presented at the 50th North American Chemical Residue Workshop (NACRW), formerly known as the Florida Pesticide Residue Workshop (FPRW). The 2013 meeting celebrated the rich history of 50 years of the FPRW and the birth of the NACRW, which in its name reflects the increased scope of the workshop to topics related to the analysis of all chemical residues and contaminants in food, feed, and environmental samples.
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pesticides on minor crops. The session also included a special guest, Dr. Yukiko Yamada, from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who discussed Japan’s socalled “positive list” of pesticide and veterinary drug residues. In addition to the opening session, the following symposia were featured in the 2013 scientific program: • Recent and Emerging Contaminant Issues • Veterinary Drug Analysis • State-of-the-Art Tools in Contaminant Analysis • Cream of the Crop Technical Talks • National and Global Regulatory Challenges The program also included two discussion panels on • Pesticide Registration Process • Updates from Government Laboratories and fostered open forum discussions during the following events that were also part of the program: • Federal and State Laboratories Round Table • Forum on Mass Spectrometry • International Forum Last but not least, over 100 posters were presented during the meeting covering various aspects of chemical residue and contaminant analysis. In addition to oral and poster presentations, open discussions, interactive forum sessions, and vendor seminars, the workshop also offered a two-day short course on “Chemical residue method development, validation, and routine analysis”. This well-received and well-attended course was instructed by Richard Fussell and Simon Hird from the Food and Environment Research Agency (York, UK). The program well represented the expanding scope of the workshop and discussed new trends and issues in the analysis of chemical residues in both food and environmental matrices. The session on state-of-the art tools in contaminant analysis as well as the popular forum on mass spectrometry (moderated by Walter Hammack of the Florida Department of Agriculture) highlighted the continuous interest in the implementation of accurate mass/high-resolution mass spectrometry in routine laboratories. The symposia on recent and emerging contaminant issues and national and global regulatory challenges provided an overview of current issues that emphasize the needs for new method development. Furthermore, the
he Florida Pesticide Residue Workshop (FPRW) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013! This meeting has grown over the years from a workshop for pesticide residue chemists into a very popular conference that expanded its content well beyond pesticide-related topics. In recent years, the FPRW has become a platform for knowledge exchange in various areas related to the analysis of all chemical residues and contaminants in food, feed, and environmental samples. To reflect this development, it was decided to change the name of the workshop to the North American Chemical Residue Workshop (NACRW) on the occasion of the 50th FPRW anniversary. Therefore, the 2013 meeting had not just one but two reasons to celebrate: the rich history of the FPRW and also new beginnings of the NACRW. The meeting was held July 21−24, 2013, in its traditional location at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, FL, USA. Despite the travel restrictions for the U.S. government scientists in 2013, the meeting was well attended with about 325 attendees from North America but also from South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, altogether representing 17 different countries. In addition to FLAG Works, Inc., a nonprofit organization, many technology providers and other vendors help sponsor this workshop by participating in the exhibits (with 44 vendor booths this year), providing seminars, and contributing poster presentations. New in 2013, vendors also had a chance to organize user meetings in conjunction with the workshop to provide in-depth information exchange and networking opportunities for their users. The opening session of the scientific program was titled “Past, Present, and Future of Contaminant Analysis” and was started by a keynote address delivered by George Fong, who founded the FPRW in 1964. George Fong reflected on the colorful history of the FPRW, which, over its 50 years of existence, affected professional careers of many residue chemists and started numerous life-long friendships. George and his wife Wilma, who was also present at the meeting, were the heart and soul of the FPRW until George’s retirement from the FPRW organization in 2011. This fact was highlighted by the next two speakers, Prof. David Klein and Marc Engel, who attended the workshop for many years and shared some fun memories from the past meetings in addition to their thoughts for the future of the NACRW. The year 2013 marked another important 50th anniversary as the IR-4 project also celebrated 50 years of service to U.S. growers and consumers. Dr. Johannes Corley was invited to speak in the opening session about the history of IR-4 and its programs that help register © 2014 American Chemical Society
Special Issue: 50th North American Chemical Residue Workshop Received: January 12, 2014 Published: March 10, 2014 3649
dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf500201j | J. Agric. Food Chem. 2014, 62, 3649−3650
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Symposium Introduction
International Forum, organized for the first time this year, brought interesting topics and comparisons between regulatory enforcement and monitoring approaches from different countries. The papers included in this special section of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry are a good representation of the topics discussed at the 2013 NACRW and should provide an invitation to the future meetings, including the next one, which will be held July 20−23, 2014, at the TradeWinds in St. Pete Beach, FL, USA. Please come to learn, discuss, and network with your colleagues and take advantage of the many opportunities that this friendly event has to offer!
Katerina Mastovska*
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2013 NACRW Program Committee Chair, Covance Laboratories, Nutritional Chemistry and Food Safety, 3301 Kinsman Boulevard, Madison, Wisconsin 53704, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf500201j | J. Agric. Food Chem. 2014, 62, 3649−3650
