Hundreds of C-level professionals from the food and beverage industry, including top equipment suppliers, distributors and processors, will gather to connect and learn about driving business growth at the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) Annual Conference on March 21-23, 2018 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, AZ.  Participants will expand their industry knowledge through keynote presentations, roundtables, educational business sessions, extensive networking and an opening general session panel focused on Food Safety & Sanitary Design.

The food safety panel will be one of the key highlights of the meeting, with expert speakers from all major industry segments and retail presenting on the important food safety issues currently facing the industry. This session will be held Thursday, March 22 from 9:30 am - 11:30 am and includes the following panelists:

• Scott Brooks, president, River Run Consulting, former VP of Food Safety for Kraft Food
• Jean-Pierre Haché, vice-president Quality, Health & Safety, Bonduelle Ameriqué
• Lee Johnson, director of technical services for West Liberty Foods
• Chad Larson, VP of manufacturing, Palermo Villa, Inc.
• Craig Wilson, VP, GMM, Costco Corporation
• Michael Woodland, director of corporate sanitation, Dairy Farmers of America

The food safety panel will be moderated by Andy Hanacek, editor, National Provisioner, and is organized and sponsored by the Food Safety Summit, the leading forum on food safety with an in-depth conference program taking place May 7-10, 2018 in Rosemont, Illinois.

"This panel was created based on feedback from our members that stressed a need to tackle overarching critical issues with experts across all segments to give us all a better understanding of how these issues are addressed," said Tom Kittle, chairman of the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) and president of Handtmann Inc. and Handtmann Canada Limited. "Food safety is a logical choice for this inaugural panel as it clearly affects all food and beverage segments, albeit in different ways."

"The FPSA's Annual Conference is an important professional development experience which we have specifically designed to help today's industry leaders continue to grow their business," says David Seckman, FPSA president & CEO. "The opportunity to network with other leaders across the entire supply chain and learn about the latest industry trends is invaluable."

The FPSA Annual Conference also includes several general sessions, keynote speakers, networking events and a scavenger hunt. Registration for the FPSA Annual Conference is open now. Click here to learn more. Registrants can enjoy an early-bird discount rate between now and February 21st and members of the FPSA Women's Council attending the Annual Conference for the 1st time and FPSA Young Professionals Group enjoy discounted registration.