Post-Symposium FSRN Workshop at VTEC 2026 (Aberdeen)
Title: STEC Testing in Practice: Toward an
Achievable Toolkit
Date & Time: Thursday 14th May 2026,
09:30 – 16:00 (exact times to be confirmed)
Content: A focused workshop will be held in
partnership with the Food Safety Research Network (FSRN) as part of its
cross-sector initiative Advancing STEC Diagnostics.
The FSRN’s ongoing STEC workstreams have been gathering
real-world insight into current testing availability, terminology and
interpretation challenges, and unmet needs for UK businesses and laboratories.
This workshop presents an opportunity to reflect on those learnings to date,
benchmark them internationally, and discuss a shared direction of travel. A
central goal is for more specific STEC diagnostics that are scientifically
robust and operationally feasible. (First workshop report: 10.5281/zenodo.16921087).
The session will convene international experts, public
health agencies, diagnostic developers, UK regulators, and food businesses to
explore practical, risk-informed approaches to STEC testing across food,
clinical, and environmental settings.
Contact: This session is by invitation and limited in
number. However, if you are interested in participating, please contact nicola.holden@sruc.ac.uk and cc Melissa.Antoniou-Kourounioti@quadram.ac.uk,
and cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk directly
with the email header ‘Interest in VTEC-2026 post-symposium workshop’.
An agenda will be distributed to attendees closer to the
time.