The Food Safety Summit education program, the leading interactive forum on food safety, begins virtually today and runs through Thursday. Registered attendees can explore, learn, and interact with other participants by logging into the virtual atmosphere. 

We are looking forward to bringing the industry together virtually for four days to learn from leading subject matter experts, find new products and services from our exhibiting companies, and network with their peers, said Scott Wolters, chief events officer, BNP Media.

Exhibitors and attendees can begin interacting, setting their agendas, making appointments, and accessing the list of attendees. Although we cannot be physically together, the Virtual Food Safety Summit will feature all of the aspects the industry has come to expect from this leading industry event.

Free General Admission provides registered attendees access to the virtual exhibit hall and the following general sessions each day.

• Opening session — “COVID-19: The New Normal for the Food Industry” — Hear, learn and discuss first hand with subject matter experts from epidemiology, regulatory, distribution, manufacturing, foodservice, and retail what they did to address the COVID-19 pandemic crisis for their organizations, customers, and consumers. Hear what worked, what did not work, and how they are proactively planning for the future.
• Keynote — “Back to Basics: Consumer-Focused Food Safety” — Will Daniels, president of the produce division at IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group will discuss how COVID 19 has changed the world. In the wake of this pandemic, food manufacturers have stood up to the challenge of performing as an essential business and have shown the world how well this industry attempts to respond to a crisis; working together to maintain a safe work environment for the employee while producing safe food.
• Annual Town Hall — Join Frank Yiannas of FDA; Paul Kiecker of USDA; Rob Tauxe of CDC; and Steve Mandernach of AFDO for 60 minutes of Q&A with the top regulators and agency leaders who will share the stage in an interactive session with the audience and each other.
• Foodborne Illness Outbreak Mock Criminal Trial — “A View from the Jury Box” — Listen to federal prosecutors as they argue why Lynn White, vice president of food safety for a company that caused a Listeria outbreak, should be criminally convicted and learn about the scope of potential criminal exposure a company may face if their products are associated with an outbreak. Attendees will be able to deliberate the evidence as jurors in the trial and vote whether to convict or acquit.
• State of the Industry Overview — Food Safety Strategies, the official supporting publication of the Food Safety Summit, presents an overview of the top issues defining current development in food safety across agriculture, processing, distribution, retail, and foodservice, with insights specific to COVID 19.
• Education Content – More than 25 one-hour sessions will offer insight from subject matter experts on such hot topics as Food Safety Challenges; Difficult to Detect Organisms; How to Control Allergens; How Hep A Prepared Us for COVID; Novel Processing Technologies; Developing Food Safety Disaster Plans, Supply Chain Traceability; Foodborne Outbreaks; Labeling; Indoor Farming; Risk Communications; Best Practices around COVID; Partners with a Common Purpose; and Hot Topics. 
• Virtual Exhibits – From 12:00 — 2:30 p.m. CDT, each of the four days of the event, the virtual exhibit hall featuring Gold Sponsor Purell; Bronze sponsor Elisa Technologies; as well as Conference Sponsor Zebra will be open. Through the virtual platform, food safety professionals will have access to interactive exhibits from various companies featuring products and services in Training & Consulting, Testing, Environmental Monitoring, Sanitation & Hygiene, Equipment, Software & Traceability, Education, and Facilities Management. Virtual exhibits will feature video demonstrations, product brochures, and a way to directly request further information from each individual exhibiting company. Log into the virtual portal and start connecting with these exhibiting companies.
• Solutions Stage/Tech Tent — Presentations will be delivered by exhibiting companies in both the Solutions Stage and Tech Tent. These sponsor-produced sessions will cover various topics and demonstrate expertise on the latest innovations in food safety. Companies presenting include AGI SureTrack, Aptar, Biomerieux, CAT2, Controlant, FoodLogiQ, INECTA, ISTOBAL, JBS Logistics, Mettler Toledo, Millipore SIGMA, NSF, Orkin, PALL, and RiskLimiter.