The 25th annual Food Safety Summit is being held May 8-11 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The event features a program of educational seminars, high-level industry and government speakers, workshops, networking events and access to vendors on the trade show floor.  

According to show organizers, the Summit offers a dynamic conference program featuring speakers from leading manufacturers, growers, non-governmental and government agencies, trade associations, supermarkets, academic and legal professionals who will cover all of the important topics facing the industry. What’s more, select sessions will be available streaming online for industry professionals who cannot attend in person.

The event kicks off on Monday, May 8 with four Certificate Courses including NEHA’s Certified Professional–Food Safety (CP-FS) Credential Review Course, Food Fraud Prevention Workshop and Certificate Course, The HACCP Alliance’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Certificate Training, and FSMA FSPCA Foreign Supplier Verification Program. 

On Tuesday, May 9, there are five half-day workshops, addressing the following

• Got Root Cause
• Developing Food Safety Leadership Skills: Building the Workforce of Tomorrow
• Recent Advancements in Sanitation for the Prevention and Control of Food Safety Hazards
• AI, Data Gathering, and Analysis - What Are you Using AI For?
• Looking Forward and Looking Back: How Companies can Establish a Robust and Compliant Traceability Program 

The keynote presentation on Risk Culture: How to Balance Risks for the Safety of Consumers, Team Members, and the Environment (scheduled Wednesday, May 10, 9:15 am to 10:30 am) will feature Michael Eckhardt (senior vice president, chief legal, and risk officer, and secretary of Wawa Inc.), Randy Huffman, Ph.D (chief food safety and sustainability officer, Maple Leaf Foods), and David McDonald (president and COO, OSI Group); Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. (principal of Cultivate SA) will moderate the conversation. 

The 11th annual Town Hall: A Conversation with Top Regulators and Advisors will be held on Thursday, May 11, with insights from Donald A. Prater, D.V.M., U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Sandra Eskin, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Steven Mandernach, Association of Food and Drug Officials; and Robert Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gillian Kelleher, CEO of Kelleher Consultants and chair of the Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board, will moderate the Town Hall. 

The Summit’s closing session on Thursday afternoon will focus on Legal Insights to Sharpen Your Food Safety Focus—and Stay Out of the Courtroom. The panel discussion will feature prominent attorneys who work on behalf of consumers and industry—with all advocating on the side of food safety. These internationally recognized expert lawyers will discuss the common gaps or weaknesses they see in company operations, culture, and regulatory adherence that lead to adverse events, such as foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls. 

On Wednesday and Thursday there will be eighteen education sessions on such timely topics as Pathogen Genomics, Outbreak Investigation, Cold Chain Management, Salmonella in Poultry, The Supply Chain, Cannabis in Food, PFAS in Packaging, Food Safety Culture, Reducing Food Loss and Legal Insights. 

The Exhibit Hall will feature over 200 solution providers showcasing the latest products and services for food safety professionals including Gold Sponsor Purell; Silver Sponsor InstantRecall, and Bronze Sponsors Crunchtime and RedZone. There will be educational opportunities on the show floor in the Solutions Stage and Tech Tent with presentations on advanced technology solutions offered throughout the three-day event.     

The Community Hub, in the center of the floor, will give attendees a chance to gather, network and listen to several Food Safety Magazine podcast interviews with leaders in the industry. New to the Hub this year is the Podcast Theater, where attendees can have a seat and listen in on interviews with Summit speakers including top regulatory officials, industry leaders, and academic experts. 

The opening night reception will be held on the trade show floor and offer food and drinks for a casual setting for attendees and exhibitors to mingle and network. On Wednesday night organizers will host the Food Safety Summit Gives Back. This year the event is supporting Stop Foodborne Illness and the work they have been doing for 30 years. The money donated goes to support the organization’s vision of “A World Without Foodborne Illness” and their mission to be the voice of people affected by foodborne illness”, by collaborating with partners in academia, the food industry, and government to prevent foodborne illness. Stop advocates for effective food safety policy and facilitates culture change to increase food safety. 

Now those who are not able to attend the event in person can tune in for six free sessions which will be streaming live from May 9-11 and available on demand for one year. These sessions give food safety professionals the opportunity to view, interact with industry professionals, and download valuable content. The six sessions include three workshops: Got Root Cause, Recent Advancements in Sanitation, How Companies can Establish a Robust and Compliant Traceability Program; as well as three general sessions including the Keynote Presentation on Risk Culture, The Town Hall Q&A with FDA, CDC, AFDO and USDA, and the Closing Session focused on Legal Insights. 

Registration is open at food-safety.com/food-safety-summit. There are one-, two-, and three-day conference packages available as well as group discounts. A conference pass provides access to the interactive half day workshops, 27 in-depth education sessions , the keynote and Town Hall presentations, lunch in the exhibit hall, two networking receptions, access to 200+ solution providers, free education in the Solutions Stage and Tech Tent, and NEHA continuing education credits.