International food safety summit to tackle bioterrorism
Food Safety Summit, to be held at the Washington DC Convention
Center 18-20 March 2003.
Food safety and food security will be the focus of the 5th annual Food Safety Summit, to be held at the Washington DC Convention Center 18-20 March 2003.
Anne Veneman, US Secretary of Agriculture and Dr Mark McClellan, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, will address over 1,500 international food manufacturers, food processors, restaurant executives and food retailers during the three-day summit. Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, will also keynote. Other keynoters include top executives of Bird Eye Foods, Deloitte Consulting, and Allied Domecq QSR, parent company of Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins.
Hundreds of household name food companies will gather here, such as Kraft, General Mills, Campbell's Soup, M&M, ConAgra, Tyson, Olive Garden, Hormel and Burger King, to give presentations during the conference. Topics include dealing with listeria, e-coli, food allergens, food irradiation, and other issues, as well as a comprehensive series of sessions on food security and how to secure food supply from bioterrorism.
Throughout the exhibit floor several brand new technologies will be showcased, including a new method of tracing food products from point-of-consumption all the way back to their origin on the farm. Food irradiation and pasteurisation technology will also be shown for use in meat, produce, and other foods. The exhibit floor will be open Wednesday 19 March from 11 am-5:00 pm and again from 5:00-6:00 pm; on Thursday, 20 March from 11:00 am-2:00 pm.
The Food Safety Summit begins on Tuesday 18 March with a full day of pre-conference workshops. The event and conference sessions are being sponsored by the National Food Processors Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Food Marketing Institute and Food Safety Magazine.
On Wednesday March 19, Ann Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture and Senator Thad Cochran will join Dennis Mullen, chairman, president and CEO of Birds Eye Foods, during a keynote address at the Summit's opening General Session to begin at 10:15 am. On Thursday, Dr Mark McClellan will join Lawrence Hutter, Consumer Package Goods (CPG) Lead, Europe, of Deloitte Consulting and Jon Luther, CEO of Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants, which include Dunkin Donuts, Baskin-Robbins and Togo's in a general session that will begin at 10:15 am.
"Food safety and food security issues have never been more important than now," said Scott Goldman, president of Eaton Hall Exhibitions, producers of the event. "Over the past five years the Food Safety Summit has become a unique opportunity for the industry to come together and share ideas, even among competitors, so we can all do a better job to continue to ensure a safe, wholesome food supply."
