On May 28, 2019, FDA announced a partnership with the American Chemical Society (ACS) to provide a series of biannual training sessions focusing on chemical science related to food safety. The half-day training sessions are continuing education opportunities for FDA employees, but are open to the public and offer participants the opportunity to interact with leading technical experts in chemistry. However, FDA emphasized the training sessions are not intended as a forum to discuss regulatory issues or make recommendations to the agency or agency employees.

The colloquia sessions will focus on various aspects of chemistry, including flavor modifiers, manufacturing processes, specifications and analytical methods. The first session titled “Frontiers in Flavor Chemistry,” will be held on Tuesday, June 4 and will cover a range of flavor-related topics, including taste perception in humans and its impact on nutrient intake, recent advances in food flavors, and the discovery of new flavors. Based on the invited panel of experts, it appears the training session will focus on the chemistry and development of flavors, versus the regulation of flavors and flavor labeling.

Only registered participants are allowed to attend the trainings, and there will be no onsite registration. More information can be found on the ACS event registration site.