Reflecting current worries about the safety of the food chain, attendance at last month's Food Safety Summit in Washington D.C. jumped by a staggering 34 per cent.
Some 1,505 food manufacturers, food processors, restaurant executives and food retailers gathered for what was the Fifth Annual Food Safety Summit. The key topic of the event was food safety, food security, and bioterrorism which was the subject of keynote addresses by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Mark McClellan.
"Food safety and food security issues have never been more important than now, and this has truly become the premiere food safety event in the industry," said Scott Goldman, president of Eaton Hall Exhibitions, producers of the event. "This year's Food Safety Summit attracted a record number of attendees and was an incredibly timely and important gathering for top executives from leading restaurant and foodservice establishments to share ideas, on how best to ensure a safe, secure and wholesome food supply."
The conference kicked-off with a half-day seminar on Food Security & Bioterrorism presented by the National Food Processors Association and sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. At the workshop, attendees heard from front line leaders in the US government, the military, law enforcement, corporate security experts, the transportation sector and the food industry who provided the latest information on the real threats to our food supply.
During the two general sessions, a packed audience listened to policy addresses by Secretary Veneman and Commissioner McClellan. In addition, the lineup of keynote speakers included Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Dennis Mullen, chairman, president and CEO of Birds Eye Foods, Lawrence Hutter Consumer Package Goods (CGP) Lead, Europe, of Deloitte Consulting, and Jon Luther, CEO of Allied Domeq Quick Service Restaurants, which include Dunkin Donuts, Baskin-Robbins and Togo's.
More than 70 speakers discussed solutions for the industry with real-world QA strategy for commercial companies. Topics included food safety, food security, food plant operations, quality assurance, microbiology, sanitation and laboratory practices. Presenters included executives from such household name food companies as Kraft, General Mills, Campbell's Soup, M&M, ConAgra, Tyson, Olive Garden, Hormel and Burger King.
"The Food Safety Summit is the premier event for food safety professionals. It provides us an opportunity to meet and talk with top people in the field from government and across all industry sectors. In my experience, the conference programme is always current and relevant," said Chet England, chief food safety officer, Burger King Corporation.
On the Expo floor, several brand new technologies were on display for the first time, including a new method of tracing food products from point-of-consumption all the way back to their origin on the farm. In addition, the USDA launched their Food Safety Mobile that will visit some 100 communities throughout the US this year to educate consumers about safe food handling techniques.
The 2004 Food Safety Summit is scheduled for 17-19 March 2004 at the Washington DC Convention Center. Additional information about the Food Safety Summit can be found at the dedicated website, www.foodsafetysummit.com.