ACS webinar on chemistry for food safety

News media and others interested in the chemical sciences are invited to join the next in a series of American Chemical Society (ACS) Webinars, focusing on Professional Growth and Development.

Scheduled for Thursday, April 1, 2 - 3 p.m. Eastern Time, the free webinar will feature Walter Hammack with the Florida Department of Agriculture, as he discusses the various chromatographic tools, methods and regulations for food safety. His topic: "How Chemistry is Keeping Your Food Safe -Application of Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) in a Food Safety Laboratory."

The ACS Webinars connect you with subject experts and global thought leaders in chemical sciences, management, and business to addresses current topics of interest to scientific and engineering professionals. Each webinar includes a short presentation followed by a Q & A session.

News media and scientists can tune into the conference without charge, but must register in advance.

Hammock's topics will include:

• What is ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC)?
• Advantages of UHPLC over HPLC - how does it keep your food safe
• What type of equipment is needed to take advantage of UHPLC?
• Practical applications of the UHPLC for food analysis

Hammack is an Environmental Manager with the Florida Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety, Chemical Residue Laboratory. The Chemical Residue Laboratory is an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory for pesticide analysis and is a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) Pesticide Residue Program (PRP) and the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN). He is the section lead for Liquid Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry and Food Defense. He has expertise in both liquid and gas chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry. Hammack has worked on numerous high profile food safety projects during his career, including, chloramphenicol and more recently, melamine in human food. He graduated from Valdosta State University in 1988 with a B.S. in Chemistry and has been with the Florida Department of Agriculture as a chemist for 22 years.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Source: American Chemical Society