Safeguarding human health from harmful bacteria found in seafood is the focus of a three-day meeting hosted by experts in Weymouth.

The event at the Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) laboratory at the Nothe brings together 14 international experts from 10 countries to review guidance on seafood food safety approaches. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) is convening the international Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment to update FAO/WHO global guidance to reduce public health risks from a group of bacteria called Vibrios, that can be found in some seafood, particularly in bivalve molluscs such as oysters and mussels.

Dr Rachel Hartnell from Cefas Weymouth said: "We are honoured to be hosting, and to contribute scientifically, to this extremely prestigious meeting. Safeguarding human health and enabling food security are major pillars of Cefas’ mission and the outputs of this meeting will make a real positive difference to public health outcomes globally."