The Food Safety Summit, the premier event for food safety professionals, has announced a return to a fully in-person event for its 24th annual conference and trade show taking place May 9–12, 2022 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

The conference program, developed by an esteemed Educational Advisory Board (EAB), will feature sessions led by industry thought leaders; a keynote presentation focused on The Future of Food Safety Culture: Commitment and Collaboration; five certificate/certification courses; the 10^th Annual Town Hall, and opportunities for community networking. For access to the full program, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com/.

“We are looking forward to bringing the food safety industry back together for the Summit, which for the past 24 years has been the one event where professionals learn from their peers about cutting-edge solutions to address emerging issues throughout the supply chain,” said Scott Wolters, Chief Events Officer of BNP Media, the producer of the event. “Attendees to the 2022 Summit will once again be able to gain certificates in courses, see the latest technological advances offered by leading vendors, network with their peers and industry-leading speakers, and hear thought-provoking education sessions.”

The Summit will kick off on Monday, May 9 with five certificate and certification courses including NEHA’s Certified Professional – Food Safety (CP-FS) Credential; FSPCA’s Intentional Adulteration Course; Food Fraud Prevention Academy's Food Fraud Prevention Workshop and Certificate Course; The HACCP Alliance’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Certificate Training; and AFDO’s Environmental Sampling for Retail Food Establishment Outbreaks. For details and registration, visit www.FoodSafetySummit.com.

On Tuesday, May 10, the opening general session will be a live Mock Civil Trial where attendees will be able watch opening statements from plaintiff and defense lawyers, listen to testimony from a mother who lost her child to a severe E. coli O157:H7 infection; hear testimony and cross-examination from the company CEO and VP of Food Safety; and evaluate expert testimony from the plaintiff and defense. Following closing arguments, the audience will deliberate the case and issue a final verdict. 

The afternoon will offer four additional workshops including a two-part session on Cybersecurity and What it Means to Food Safety Professionals, with speakers from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Michigan State University, and Butterball Inc. Additional afternoon workshops will focus on Internal Audits, Moving Beyond a "Checking-the-Box" Mindset, and Effectively Communicating with the Regulatory Community.

On Wednesday, May 11, the keynote presentation will focus on The Future of Food Safety Culture: Commitment and Collaboration with speakers from Publix Supermarkets (invited), FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA Office of Food Policy and Response, and DOJ Consumer Protection Branch. The panel will discuss FDA’s views on the importance of developing and nurturing food safety culture in the food industry; provide an industry perspective on implementing successful food safety culture strategies in the real world; and provide insight on the role and importance of food safety culture through the eyes of the Department of Justice. The session will be moderated by Shawn Stevens, Food Safety Lawyer, Food Industry Counsel LLC.

On Thursday, May 12, the Summit will offer the 10^th annual Town Hall: A Conversation with Top Regulators and Advisors with insight from the Food and Drug Administration’s Frank Yiannas; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Robert Tauxe, M.D.; U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sandra Eskin, and the Association of Food & Drug Officials’ Steve Mandernach. The session will be moderated by the Summit’s EAB Chair, Gary Ades, president of G&L Consulting.

The Summit’s closing session on Thursday afternoon will feature Joe Stout of Commercial Food Sanitation and Eric Moorman from Butterball Inc., who will present an interactive session focusing on In the Trenches with Sanitation: Challenges and Key Learnings from Solving Problems in the Field.

Over 1,500 food safety professionals are expected to attend the Summit’s education sessions. The 2022 program will offer a wide range of topics affecting industry professionals including supply chain management, diversity and inclusion, virtual auditing, the inspection process, food insecurity, challenge studies, risk assessment, and much more. On Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30 am–2:30 pm, there will be dedicated Exhibit Hall time for attendees to learn about new solutions, engage in small group discussions in the Community Hub, attend free presentations by food safety experts in the Solutions Stages and in the Tech Tent, enjoy lunch, and network with peers. 

For more information on sponsorship or exhibiting opportunities, please contact Kim Hansen at hansenk@bnpmedia.com or Adam Haas at haasa@bnpmedia.com.   For more information and updates for the 2022 event, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. For access to the full program and for attendee registration, visit https://www.food-safety.com/food-safety-summit. Use code 20for20 to receive 20 percent off all registration rates before December 31, 2021.