2009 Summit a Success
May 28, 2009
2009
Summit a Success
The 11th annual Food Safety Summit has come and gone. This year, the annual three-day meeting brought together nearly 1,600 food manufacturing, retail, foodservice, academic, military and government professional. The Summit once again did not disappoint, featuring highly interactive workshops, general sessions and keynote presentations from the National Restaurant Association, Jack-in-the-Box and the FDA. Virtually every aspect of food safety was discussed, and more than 175 companies in the exhibit hall displayed products, services and the latest information in fighting contamination.
"Initial feedback has been very positive and we are extremely pleased with the success of the event," said Scott Wolters, CEM, director of tradeshows and conferences for BNP Media, producers of the event. "Attendees really enjoyed the conference, the networking events, the Poster Abstract Area and the Vendor Theaters, where exhibitors had an opportunity to present data in their particular area of expertise."
Amy B. Smith, Ph.D., Technical Application and Regulatory Support Specialists for DuPont Qualicon, said on a national radio interview, “The Food Safety Summit is a great meeting not only for networking, but it is full of valuable and timely information. We are lucky to be part of this event. The issue of food safety cannot be overstated, and this event is a great way to network and have important discussions around regulatory and scientific information.”
Michael Kaufman, chairman of the board of the National Restaurant Association, officially kicked off the event with a keynote presentation on how the industry and government work together to improve safety and quality in the restaurant industry. He preceded Dr. David Theno, retired senior vice president, Quality and Logistics for Jack-in-the-Box, who talked about the importance of being a strong leader in the face of food-safety challenges.
In Wednesday’s keynote Dr. Donald Zink Ph.D., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, discussed the challenge of using outbreak investigations to drive continuous improvement in food safety. He talked about the complexities of tracking foodborne illnesses in the global food supply and highlighted the systems (PulseNet and FoodNet) that government agencies use to track important information and statistics.
At the Monday’s Opening Night Reception, which was graciously sponsored by BPI and Thermo Scientific, the 2009 Annual Food Safety Leadership Awards were announced by NSF International, a non-profit public-health and safety organization. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Phillip Minerich, Hormel Foods Corp., and the Education and Training Award was presented to the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California. System Improvement Awards were presented to the Coca-Cola Co., Greenville County Schools, South Carolina; North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and Dole Fresh Vegetables.
Tuesday evening brought The Food Quality Award, presented by Food Quality Magazine to Fieldale Farms Further Processing Division. The award was sponsored by DuPont Qualicon.
Exhibitors in the Expo Hall included 3M Microbiology, BD Diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Ecolab, Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Company LTD, R-Biopharm, Inc., Siemens Energy & Automation, Silliker, Inc., Beef Products Inc., Weber Scientific and others.
“This was our first time to The Food Safety Summit, and it was one of the best shows we have done,” said Ernst Norman of Baxtek Solutions in Snellville, Ga. Dawn Bye, director of business operations for AcryliCon, based in Chesapeake, Va., said her company left the Summit feeling as though it was a successful event. “We had an opportunity to speak with a number of key representatives from the food industry as well as quality assurance and inspection groups to inform them about our products and educate them on what are available; it was a very valuable meeting.”
Plans are already being made for the 2010 Food Safety Summit. It will be held April 12-14, 2010, and will return to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. For more information, call (847) 405-4000 or visit www.foodsafetysummit.com.
— Andy Hanacek, executive editor, The National Provisioner
