The 19th annual Food Safety Summit will offer new education sessions and features when it returns to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., May 8-11. An event for growers, processors, retailers, distributors, foodservice operators, regulators and academia, the Food Safety Summit is a solutions-based conference and expo designed to meet the educational and informational needs of the entire food industry, it says.

“There are many new additions being offered at the 2017 Food Safety Summit including six FSPCA, AFDO and NEHA certification courses; a half-day workshop on listeria control; extended exhibit hall hours; a dynamic Keynote Presentation on hot topics in food safety; an expanded solutions stage schedule; newly explored case studies; and over 200 solutions providers on an expanded show floor,” said Scott Wolters, director of tradeshows and conferences at BNP Media, producer of the Food Safety Summit, in a statement.

The following will be highlights of the 2017 Food Safety Summit program:

• Certification and training: The Food Safety Summit seeks to help advance knowledge among the food industry to meet FSMA requirements.
• Workshops: The following four workshops will be offered: The Latest in Listeria Control; Preventive Controls and Sanitary Food Transportation Act: The Basics and Sustainment; A Guide to Success as a Food Safety Professional; and Integrated Food Safety System Update.
• Education and extending your community: The program will offer 22 sessions, two general session presentations and 14 free presentations.
• Hot topics in food safety: A panel of speakers from industry and government will address issues facing food safety professionals.
• Networking sessions: A Welcome Reception on the exhibit hall floor will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. May 9 and 10.
• Town Hall: Town Hall will provide an opportunity for an interactive discussion about food safety issues with officials representing the FDA, USDA, AFDO and CDC.
• Exhibit Hall: More than 200 solutions providers will demonstrate products and technologies. BI