The Food Safety Summit announces its 2015 Educational Advisory Board (EAB), which will set the direction for the content of the education program, including high-profile keynotes, hands-on workshops, specialized training and detailed informational sessions. The EAB is comprised of industry leaders representing the entire food industry—growers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, foodservice operators, regulators and academia.

“We are very excited to work with this talented and highly respected Educational Advisory Board to produce another stellar Food Safety Summit program for 2015,” says Scott Wolters, director. “Our goal is to offer a solutions-oriented program where real issues can be discussed and solutions discovered. With a nice mix of returning members and the new members to our EAB, we are extremely confident we will accomplish this goal.”

The new EAB members are:

• Carl Klein, vice president of central kitchens quality assurance and food safety, Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
• Courtney Parker, senior vice president, quality and food safety, Chiquita
• Roberta Wagner, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) deputy director for regulatory affairs, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Patricia Wester, president, PA Webster Consulting
• Craig Wilson, vice president, GMM quality assurance and food safety, Costco

Returning EAB members are:

• Gary Ades, Ph.D., president, G&L Consulting Group
• Al Baroudi, Ph.D., vice president, quality assurance and food safety, The Cheesecake Factory
• Joe Corby, executive director, Association of Food & Drug Officials
• Jay Ellingson, Ph.D., corporate director of food safety and quality assurance, Kwik Trip Inc.
• Bryan Farnsworth, senior vice president, supply chain, Hormel Foods
• Faye Feldstein, DC senior adviser, FED TS&A FHS, Deloitte Consulting LLP
• Jorge Hernandez, senior vice president, food safety and quality assurance, US Foods
• Hal King, Ph.D., director food and product safety, Chick-fil-A
• Richard H. Linton, Ph.D., dean, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, North Carolina State University
• John Marcy, Ph.D., professor and poultry processing specialist, University of Arkansas
• Joan Menke-Schaenzer, global chief quality officer, ConAgra Foods Inc.
• John Spink, Ph.D., associate director and assistant professor, Michigan State University
• Sharon Wood, director, food safety and environmental affairs, HEB

The planning process for the 2015 Summit is underway and prospective speakers are invited to submit an abstract by Sept. 19, 2014, for consideration by the EAB. All session abstracts must be educational and noncommercial in nature. Vendors of food-safety-related products or services should not submit an abstract that promotes their company or its products. Sales pitches and/or product-centric presentations (even if delivered with a customer co-presenter) will not be considered for inclusion in the conference program.

Sessions must address one of the following food-safety solutions: Allergens; auditing; crisis planning; effective risk communication; emerging issues retail/foodservice and grocery operations; environmental monitoring; FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations and guidelines; food fraud/defense/security; Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA); global food supply; good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and prerequisite programs; Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), imports/exports; interaction of public and private sectors; interventions; market trends and landscape for the future; packaging; pathogens; pest control; predictive microbiology and testing; produce; quantitative risk assessment; sanitary design of equipment; sanitation; software solutions; traceability; training; transportation/distribution-protecting products; or any other topics applicable to the audience. To submit an abstract, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com/index.php/call-for-speakers

The 2015 Food Safety Summit will be held April 28-30, 2015, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore. Details and registration information is available at www.foodsafetysummit.com. For more information, call 847-405-4124.