Maintaining the safety of the food products made by snack and bakery companies is imperative. Makers of such foods need to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses, particle contamination, and other potential health risks. What’s more, an outbreak of norovirus or metal shavings connected with a product can cause potentially irreparable damage to your company’s reputation. Safety must be a top priority on every producer’s list.

At the 2024 Food Safety Summit (taking place May 6–9), professionals focused on maintaining the safety and integrity of all foods will gather in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont to tackle the vital task of protecting foods from all types of contamination. The event features educational sessions, technology exhibits, and presentations from leading experts and agencies. Companies and organizations represented on the agenda include Kellanova, J&J Snack Foods, McDonald’s, Yum Brands, and more.

To find out more about the programming and benefits of attending, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery connected with Stacy Atchison, publisher of Food Safety Magazine, producer of the Summit (and SF&WB’s sister publication).

Jenni Spinner: What are some of the key challenges facing food safety professionals in 2024? 

Stacy Atchison: There are many pressing issues food safety professionals address each day as they work to keep our nation's food supply safe. The Food Safety Summit offers solutions for today and planning for tomorrow, with attendees gaining knowledge and actionable solutions. Hot-topic sessions include HACCP Sources and Vectors, Recall Modernization, the Intersection of Cannabis and Foods, Impact of Sustainability and Climate Change, New Food Delivery, Traceability, The Future of Food Safety Auditing, the Impact of Legacy Facilities and Equipment, Viruses in Food, and much more.

JS: Could you please share an overview of the Food Safety Summit—what are the features of the event, and who is the content of the event geared toward? 

SA: The Food Safety Summit, now in its 26th year, is owned and produced by BNP Media and Food Safety Magazine. The Summit is the most established independent food safety event in North America bringing together food safety leaders across the supply chain from food manufacturing, retail, foodservice, distribution, regulators, produce, and academia. Over 1,300 industry professionals attend to gain valuable knowledge on the most pressing topics in an extensive education program, collaborate with top-tier suppliers of highly effective solutions on a robust trade show floor, and engage and network with peers in the community.

JS: What will Mary Weaver Gertz of Yum! Brands be touching upon in her keynote?

SA: Mary Weaver Gertz, chief food safety and quality assurance officer for Yum! Brands Inc. will discuss Being Right is Not Enough: Leading Food Safety in a Corporate and Global Environment during the keynote presentation. Leading food safety in a corporate and global environment is a daunting task that requires much more than the technical credentials young leaders often depend on. Coaching and developing the next generation of food safety leaders means changing the narrative and building business leaders who lead food safety. Ms. Weaver Gertz will provide insight on finding the way to be a food safety leader in the corporate environment, influencing and driving change, building trust through credibility, building authentic relationships, and more.

JS: The lineup for the Town Hall event is pretty impressive—please tell us a bit about that.

SA: Our Town Hall features a real-time conversation with top leaders from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO). Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board Chair Gillian Kelleher, CEO of Kelleher Consultants LLC, will lead the Town Hall Q&A with the leaders of these four prominent food safety government agencies and advisory organizations:

• FDA's James (Jim) Jones, the new Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, will join the panel for the first time to discuss the increasing responsibility that importers have under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP). He will also address the reorganization of the FDA and the impact of those changes, the FSMA Proposed Rule on Agricultural Water, the new Produce Safety Coalition, and much more.
• CDC's Rob Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H., Division Director, will once again provide an update on the PulseNet data platform for whole genome sequencing and announce that Cronobacter sakazakii will be included in PulseNet tracking going forward. He will also address the health burdens of foodborne illness using whole genome sequencing in PulseNet, and source attribution with an emphasis on Salmonella.
• USDA's Sandra Eskin, J.D., Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, will focus on Salmonella control efforts in poultry, transparency in food product labeling, and research to support updating the Safe Handling Instructions label.
• AFDO's Steven Mandernach, J.D., executive director, will address resources for FDA's Human Foods Program, AFDO's work in retail and the path to risk-based inspections, as well as the impact of AFDO's work with coalitions and alliances.

JS: Could you please share some of the other highlights from the speaker and session agenda? There are some notable people and companies represented. 

SA: Our exceptional Educational Advisory Board worked diligently to develop the 2024 program to bring world-renowned speakers who will provide up-to-date information for our attendees to take actionable solutions back to their companies. We are delighted to welcome many new speakers to the Summit including James (Jim) Jones, the new deputy commissioner for human foods at FDA; Ola Afolayan with Kellanova; Felice Arboisiere with Dole; Mark Beaumont with Danone; John Crabill with Chipotle Mexican Grill; Robin Forgey with Costco; Tina Gettis with IFSH; Emma Gometz with Science Friday on NPR; Sanjay Gummalla, Ph.D. with AFFI; Dan Horan with Wegmans Food Markets; Megan Kenjora with The Hershey Company; Franck Lamour with EG America; Raquel Maymir with General Mills; Lexi Palacios with CDC; and many others.

JS: Also, could you please tell us about the certificate courses and, if you like, share some highlights from that list? 

SA: The event kicks off on Monday, May 6 with four Certificate Courses including two returning courses—NEHA's Certified Professional–Food Safety (CP-FS) Credential Review Course and the Food Fraud Prevention Workshop and Certificate Course. There will also be two new certificate courses including AFDO's Active Managerial Control for Leaders course. The new Active Managerial Control workshop for industry is designed to challenge franchisees and operations leaders by exploring the relationship between food safety culture, food safety management systems, and operational excellence within an organization.

FSPCA's Preventive Controls for Human Food Version 2.0 Pilot Participant Course is a 2.5-day certificate course is being offered at the participant level (not Lead Instructor) to pilot the newly updated FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food (PCHF) curriculum Version 2.0. Participants will receive a Version 2.0 certificate of completion from FSPCA. The course focuses on Current Good Manufacturing Practices and the Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation and is intended to ensure safe manufacturing/processing, packing, and holding of food products for human consumption in the U.S. The course will be presented by Kathy Gombas, senior advisor, FSMA Solutions; and Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate and team lead for industrial food safety and quality, Penn State.

JS: What's your favorite aspect of the Food Safety Summit? 

SA: We love bringing the community together every year to learn, connect, and collaborate. This year, to add to the general atmosphere of peer-to-peer networking, we are pleased to welcome several industry groups and their members including Women in Food Safety, Stop Foodborne Illness, and the Stop Alliance’s 40 Under 40, as well as Black Food Safety Professionals in Food Safety and Quality, and the Food Safety Professionals Group. We will offer a special networking center in the Community Hub on the show floor for these groups to meet up.