Rosemont, IL, February 24, 2016 – The keynote presentation at the 2016 Food Safety Summit has been designed to be highly interactive in nature between the regulatory community and the food industry. With the New Year comes the advent and implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations. All companies around the world selling food products into the US markets must consider and understand their responsibility to ensure compliance with FSMA. During the keynote, representatives from the FDA will discuss the new food safety environment with food safety leaders representing McDonald’s Corporation, Reser’s Fine Foods, Wegmans Food Markets and a speaker formerly with Kraft Foods. The keynote presentation entitled “The New Food Safety Environment” will be presented on Wednesday, May 11 at 9:15 am during the Food Safety Summit.

Craig W. Henry, PhD, Vice President Global Business Development, Americas, Decernis, LLC and Faye Feldstein, Senior Advisor, Deloitte Consulting, LLP will moderate this dynamic plenary session which will be thought provoking, interactive and energetic. The panelists from the regulatory side will include Glenda Lewis, Supervisory Consumer Safety Officer, Retail Food Protection Team, Office of Compliance/Division of Cooperative Programs, FDA and Kathy Gombas, Senior Advisory for Food Safety, FDA. Scott Brooks, DVM, former Senior VP Quality, Food Safety, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Kraft Foods; Joan Menke-Schaenzer, VP, Safety & Compliance, Global Supply Chain & Sustainability, McDonald's Corporation; Jay T. Mayr, VP, Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Regulatory, Reser's Fine Foods, and Gillian Kelleher, VP, Food Safety & QA, Wegmans Food Markets will discuss what they have changed and how their new food safety culture is being implemented corporately and at each facility to prevent foodborne illness. 

“These important industry leaders will provide the Summit attendees with insights and understanding of what is changing and needs to change in their food safety programs to prevent foodborne illnesses and minimize the risk of becoming liable for a prohibited act as defined within the new FSMA regulations,” said Scott Wolters, Director of the Food Safety Summit. “Our attendees will hear about the latest plans and tools for collaboration between the industry and regulatory communities, new skills and techniques for managing the increasingly complex world of food safety, and honest dialogue among the panelists who are facing similar challenges.” 

In addition to the keynote, the Summit will also offer two plenary interactive sessions where attendees will have a chance to interact with the leaders of food safety at the FDA, USDA, CDC and AFDO as well as participate in a session dedicated to the hottest topics facing the industry today. 

On Thursday, May 12th at 9:30 am the Summit will host its 5th annual Town Hall meeting where attendees will be able to participate in a candid and interactive discussion on the latest food safety issues with key government officials. Panelists will include Michael R. Taylor, JD, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, FDA; Alfred Almanza, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA; Joseph Corby, Executive Director, AFDO and Dr. Rob Tauxe, Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, CDC. The Town Hall will be moderated by Gary Ades, PhD , President, G&L Consulting Group and Chair of the Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board. 

The Summit will close with one general session on Thursday, May 12 at 4:00 pm with four dynamic and respected leaders in the industry who will address some of the most pressing issues and hot topics facing food safety professionals. The panellists will include Dane Bernard, formerly Keystone Foods, William Marler, Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, Shawn K. Stevens, Food Industry Counsel LLC, and Jeffrey Steger, US Dept. of Justice. The session will be moderated by Coral Beach, Managing Editor, Food Safety News. 

The Keynote Presentation, Town Hall and Hot Topics Session will be interactive discussion formats. To submit a question for any of the general sessions prior to the event, click here. 

Beginning on Monday, May 9th four certification courses will be offered including HACCP Certification Training, Preventive Controls for Human Foods, Seafood HACCP, and Food Safety Auditor Training. For additional information on each of these courses and to register, click here. On Tuesday, May 10th the Association of Food & Drug Officials (AFDO) will present the 2nd Annual Integration Forum, which will bring together high ranking FDA officials, state and local food safety agencies to discuss the continuing efforts and projects in place to integrate government resources dedicated to food safety in this country. The Forum will be followed by three half day workshops and two full days of education offering twenty sessions. Registration is open and the full conference program is now available live at www.foodsafetysummit.com.

About the Food Safety Summit
The Food Safety Summit is a solution based expo and conference designed to meet the educational and information needs of the entire food industry including processors, distributors, growers, retailers, foodservice operators, and academia. The Expo Hall will offer hundreds of industry vendors providing information on the newest products and services for the food safety industry. The Food Safety Summit will be held Tuesday, May 10 through Thursday, May 12, 2016 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. Certification Courses will begin on Monday, May 9, 2016. Details and registration information are available at www.foodsafetysummit.com or call 303-530-0205 x27