The 26th Annual Food Safety Summit to Offer a Dynamic Education Program, Robust Trade Show Floor and Networking Opportunities

Early Bird Rates Expire on Monday, April 1

ROSEMONT, IL, March 28, 2024 – Leadership, Recall Modernization, Traceability, Outbreak Investigations, and Culture are some of the pressing topics to be addressed at the 26th Annual Food Safety Summit, taking place May 6-9, 2024 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The Summit, the most established food safety event in North America, offers an extensive education program developed by a renowned Educational Advisory Board, networking events and access to leading vendors on the robust trade show floor.

“I am delighted to work with the best and brightest minds in food safety who serve on the Educational Advisory Board and developed an impactful conference program featuring leading subject matter experts who will share their knowledge. We worked collaboratively to share innovative and timely ideas on ways to present the most up-to-date content focused on important issues for the 2024 Food Safety Summit,” said Gillian Kelleher, CEO, Kelleher Consultants LLC, Chair of the FSS EAB. “We look forward to bringing the food safety community together from the entire supply chain with diverse expertise to exchange ideas, discuss achievements, and engage in collaborative problem-solving.”

The event kicks off on Monday, May 6th with four Certificate Courses including NEHA’s Certified Professional–Food Safety (CP-FS) Credential Review Course, AFDO’s Active Managerial Control for Leaders course; Food Fraud Prevention Workshop and Certificate Course; and FSPCA’s Preventive Controls for Human Food Version 2.0 Pilot Participant Course.

On Tuesday, May 7 there will be five half-day workshops. The event will kick off with a three-hour interactive session featuring a panel of seasoned professionals who will discuss Advancing Food Safety Business Leaders to Drive Results for Maximum Impact. The afternoon workshops will address Traceability – Best Practice Sharing, Building Blocks for a Food Safety System, The Life of an Outbreak Investigation – From the First Case Patients to the Courthouse, and Using Big Data and AI to Advance Food Safety.

Mary Weaver Gertz, Chief Food Safety and QA Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc. will discuss Being Right is Not Enough: Leading Food Safety in a Corporate and Global Environment during the keynote presentation on Wednesday, May 8. Weaver Gertz will provide insight on finding the way to be a food safety leader in the corporate environment, influencing and driving change, building trust through credibility, building authentic relationships and more.

The 12th annual Town Hall: A Real Time Conversation with FDA, CDC, USDA and AFDO will be held on Thursday, May 9, with updates from James (Jim) Jones, the new Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Sandra Eskin, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Robert Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Steven Mandernach, Association of Food and Drug Officials. The Town Hall will be moderated by Gillian Kelleher, CEO of Kelleher Consultants, LLC and Chair of the Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board.

The Summit’s closing session on Thursday afternoon will focus on Food Safety Culture: The Journey Continues. As the FDA and the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness webinar series draws to a close, celebrate the journey so far and adventures on the horizon. This in-person and virtual webinar will bring together leaders in the field to discuss the value of ongoing commitment to food safety culture. Prior panelists and new voices will answer questions and examine resources to help drive positive change, inspire food safety champions, and adapt to new challenges.

On Wednesday and Thursday there will be eighteen education sessions on such timely topics as HACCP Sources and Vectors, Recall Modernization, Effectively Collaborating with Regulators, the Intersection of Cannabis and Foods, Produce Safety, Impact of Sustainability and Climate Change, Root Cause Analysis, New Food Delivery, Food Code Adoption, Food Safety Auditing, the Impact of Legacy Facilities and Equipment, Viruses in Food – Latest Developments, and much more.

The Exhibit Hall will feature over 200 solution providers showcasing the latest products and services for food safety professionals including Gold Sponsor Share-ify, Silver Sponsor InstantRecall, and Bronze Sponsors Korber and Meritech. 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 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. The Podcast Theater is where attendees can have a seat and listen in on interviews with distinguished 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 in a casual setting for our attendees and exhibitors to mingle and network. On Wednesday night the Food Safety Summit Gives Back networking reception will support Stop Foodborne Illness and the wonderful 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. Click here for more information or to donate.

Registration is open at www.food-safety.com/food-safety-summit/registration-rates with early bird savings available through Monday, April 1, 2024. There are 1-, 2- and 3-day conference packages available and 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.

The Food Safety Summit is owned and produced by Food Safety Magazine (www.food-safety.com) and BNP Media (www.bnpmedia.com), one of the country’s leading business-to-business media companies serving industry professionals across 60+ industries through magazines, custom media, e-newsletters, webinars, events, and market research.