OVERVIEW

Ensuring the safety of food requires a complex and ever-changing set of interactions between producers, distrbutors, consumers and regulators. As advances are made in packaging and food additives, as food distributions systems evolve to meet consumer needs, or as these respond to environmental and population changes, adjustments to regulatory systems may become neceesary. Analytical, environmental and materials chemistry can often play important roles in responding to these changes and in continuing to help with the improvement of food safety and security. This chapter gives a breif overview of the chapters, produced from seminars presented at three symposia held at the 245th ACS National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana in the spring of 2013.