Name: Preventing Foreign Material Contamination with the FM Maturity Model
Start: 2025-10-30T14:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-10-30T00:00:00-04:00

Preventing Foreign Material Contamination with the FM Maturity Model

10/30/25 2:00 pm to 10/30/26 EDT

Contact: Vania Halabou

In all food processing, preventing the contamination of finished products with foreign material (FM) is key to ensuring food safety. Examples of FM include pieces of metal, rock, glass, plastic, rubber (such as pieces of glove), bone fragments (above a certain size), and other extraneous materials. To help industry—in particular meat and poultry processors—reduce incidents of FM contamination, a group of food companies banded together during the COVID-19 pandemic to develop a model for FM assessment and prevention. The companies invited the North American Meat Institute (NAMI, now known as The Meat Institute) to help develop and publish this model in 2023. Our speakers, who represent two of the companies that led the development of the model, will discuss the best practices and corporate- and plant-level guidance shared in the "Foreign Material Maturity Model." They will also discuss key points for conducting an FM Maturity Model Self-Assessment.

From this webinar, attendees will learn:

Common conditions/incidents leading to FM contamination
Best practices for prevention of FM contamination at the corporate and plant levels, as outlined in the industry-developed "Foreign Material Maturity Model"
Key points for conducting an FM Maturity Model Self-Assessment
Examples of "do's" and don'ts" when addressing FM issues

Speakers:

Spir Marinakis, Vice President of Food Safety, Quality, and Technical Services, Maple Leaf Foods. Spir Marinakis is the Vice President of Food Safety, Quality, and Technical Services at Maple Leaf Foods (MLF). With oversight for food safety and quality for processed meats, further processed poultry, fresh poultry, and fresh pork, Spir is accountable for the strategic direction to deliver on MLF's Food Safety and Quality (FS&Q) strategy, Food Safety Promise, Quality Vision, day-to-day operations of the FS&Q Management Systems, and the microbiology and chemistry labs that service MLF plants. Spir began her professional career at Unilever Canada, one of the world's largest CPG companies. In 2004, she joined Maple Leaf Foods as Director, FS&Q for the poultry division. In 2007, she moved into Six Sigma, during which time she was responsible for critical projects within marketing and food safety. In 2013, Spir moved into the Director, FS&Q systems role, where she took over leadership and execution of the company's quality strategy, performance metrics, FS&Q Pillar of Operational Excellence, complaint management, and control of the FS&Q Management System. She holds a B.Sc. degree in Nutritional Science and Human Biology from the University of Toronto.

Sharon Birkett, M.B.A., Vice President, Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance, OSI Group LLC. Sharon Birkett, M.B.A. is Vice President of Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance for OSI Group LLC. She is a leader in the food industry, demonstrated by more than 25 years of experience and expertise in the areas of food safety, quality assurance, and operations management. She leads the OSI team in raising the awareness and expectations of food safety through participating on the Food Safety Culture committee of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), leading the OSI facilities certified to GFSI-recognized schemes, and reinforcing best practices in Listeria control. Sharon is also a member of professional organizations including the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP), American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). She holds an M.B.A. degree from DeVry University and a B.S. degree in Microbiology and Chemistry from Northern Illinois University.

Moderator: Adrienne Blume, Editorial Director, Food Safety Magazine

Sponsored By: