The 2022 Food Safety Summit opened on Tuesday, May 10, with a "Mock Civil Trial 2.0" workshop led by Shawn Stevens, national food industry attorney and Founder of Food Industry Counsel LLC, and Joel Chappelle, food industry attorney at Food Industry Counsel LLC. The mock civil jury trial centered on a fictional, large-scale foodborne illness outbreak, with testimony from a mother who lost her child to an infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes, as well as testimony and cross-examination from the food company CEO, Vice President of Food Safety, and Vice President of Quality Assurance. Gary Ades, Ph.D., President of G&L Consulting Group and Chair of the Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board, served as judge for the trial.
"I hope this experience changes your life," said Mr. Stevens, "To understand what it feels like to be a food company accused of causing a foodborne illness, or what it feels like to lose your child to a Listeria infection."