The 2023 Food Safety Summit, held from May 8–11, brought together 2,700 industry professionals, researchers, policymakers, and experts in person and virtually from around the world to discuss the latest advancements and challenges in ensuring food safety. The Summit combined 1,200 in-person and 1,500 virtual participants who were able to learn together. The six insightful sessions that were live streamed during the Summit are now available on demand until May 2024.

“It was wonderful to bring the food safety community together to share knowledge, network, and see the latest solutions on the exhibit floor,” says Stacy Atchison, publisher of Food Safety Magazine, producers of the Summit and Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery’s sister publication. “We thank our Educational Advisory Board, who developed stellar content that allowed for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the development of strategies to address critical issues impacting the global food system. We also thank our exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, and partners for their commitment and support of the Summit and the industry.”

The Summit started off with the interactive, informative "Got Root Cause?" workshop. Industry and regulatory experts discussed the importance and implementation of root cause analysis, and attendees applied their learnings by collaborating with their peers to get to the bottom of a hypothetical food safety incident scenario. The panel included Deb Kane from J&J Snack Foods, Tim Jackson from FDA, Natalie Dyenson, M.P.H. from Dole Food Company, Angie Siemens from Cargill, John Butts from FoodSafetybyDesign, Tim King from Quality Matters, Brendan Niemira, Ph.D. from USDA, and Robert Prevendar from Yum! Brands. To view the workshop on demand, click here.

The Keynote Presentation focused on a conversation with modern, forward-thinking executives on the topic of balancing risks for the safety of consumers, team members, and the environment. Panelists included Michael Eckhardt from Wawa, Inc.; Randy Huffman, Ph.D. from Maple Leaf Foods; David McDonald from OSI Group; and moderator Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. from Cultivate. The panelists discussed how successful food companies manage risks that sometimes compete for investment and leadership attention, including learning how to partner with colleagues from human safety, sustainability, and animal welfare to improve food safety performance and deepen a company’s food safety culture. To view the keynote on demand, click here.

 On the final day of the Summit, Donald A. Prater, D.V.M., Acting Director of the Office of Food Policy and Response, FDA; Rob Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H., Director, DFWED, NCEZID, DDID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Sandra Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA; and Steve Mandernach, Executive Director, Association of Food and Drug Officials, participated in the 12th annual Town Hall. Each of the panelists shared updates from their organizations and participated in a lively Q&A session with attendees. The Town Hall was moderated by Gillian Kelleher, CEO, Kelleher Consultants LLC and Chair of the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) that develops content for the Summit. To view the Town Hall on demand, click here.

On Thursday afternoon, attendees had the chance to participate in a closing workshop, "Legal Insights to Sharpen Your Food Safety Focus—and Stay Out of the Courtroom!" The riveting panel discussion, moderated by Food Safety Magazine Editorial Director, Adrienne Blume, featured five internationally recognized, expert attorneys and is now available to download. Panelists Bill Marler with Marler Clark; Shawn Stevens with Food Industry Counsel LLC; Sharon Lindan Mayl with DLA Piper; Matthew Lash with the U.S. Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Branch; and Maile Gradison with Hogan Lovells shared their legal insights on what successful food safety leadership and culture look like, as well as the "red flags" and areas for improvement they have seen during their years of practice.

During the Food Safety Summit Gives Back networking reception, the Summit presented Mitzi Baum, CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness, with a check for $6,700, which included donations from exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees. A special thank you to Ambassador sponsors: Bar Tender by Seagull Scientific, Petro-Canada Lubricants, Gojo Industries, and Share-ify; Advocate sponsors: Highland Ag Solutions, Instant Recall, Recall InfoLink, and StateFoodSafety; and Ally sponsor: ELISA Technologies. The donations will support Stop Foodborne Illness’ vision of “A World Without Foodborne Illness” and its 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. In addition, Stop Foodborne Illness attracted over 3,000 food safety professionals to their 7th webinar with the FDA on "Assessing Food Safety Culture and its Impact," which took place in front of a live audience of 300 professionals.

During the three-day Summit, hundreds of professionals visited with 125 leading vendors to learn about the latest food safety solutions including Gold Sponsor Gojo Industries, makers of Purell; Silver Sponsor InstantRecall; and Bronze Sponsors Crunchtime and RedZone. New to the Community Hub, in the center of the Exhibit Hall, was the Food Safety Magazine Food Safety Matters Podcast Theater, where attendees listened in on interviews with distinguished Summit speakers including top regulatory officials, industry leaders, and academic experts.

“The 2023 Food Safety Summit proved to be an enriching and informative event, highlighting the latest advancements, best practices, and strategies in the field of food safety. The discussions and collaborations that took place during the Summit will undoubtedly contribute to the development of effective solutions to ensure a safer and more secure global food supply,” adds Stacy Atchison. “Plans are already being made for the 26th Annual Food Safety Summit, which will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL from Monday, May 6 through Thursday, May 9, 2024.”