11th - 12th November 2024
Agenda
DAY 1
08:00 - 08:50
REGISTRATION
08:55 – 09:00
CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS
09:00 - 09:30
The Importance of Leadership in Fostering Food Safety & Quality Culture
A strong food safety culture involves committed employees who actively participate in food safety initiatives. The driving force behind this commitment is food safety leadership, which sets the tone for the organization and influences employees’ attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and quality. In this presentation, we will discuss the following points:
- How can leadership improve the food safety culture of their organization?
- What can leaders do to build a strong food safety culture?
- How can leaders motivate and influence employees to create a food safety culture?
09:30 - 10:00
Generative AI and the Eco-Friendly Initiative: Improving Early Warning Systems to Ensure Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability
We will delve into how Generative AI is reshaping Early Warning systems to fulfil the dual objectives of ensuring food safety and anticipating environmental changes during the Green Transition. This session will showcase the essential contribution of AI in detecting potential risks and opportunities at the intersection of food safety and sustainability objectives. Highlighting the delicate equilibrium between technological progress and environmental concerns, we will illustrate how Generative AI can contribute to green initiatives, including minimizing pesticide usage, promoting sustainable packaging, and enhancing resilience to climate change.
10:00 - 10:30
Food Safety & Quality Culture Together from a Private Labels Perspective
- How FSQ culture builds on a company’s stated purpose and values as part of the overall culture of an organization
- Drivers to living Food Safety and Quality
- The power of storytelling
- A Quality Culture and factors that drive it
- How it matters in Private Brands and custom products
10:35 - 11:25
COFFEE BREAK
11:30 - 12:00
Evolution of Environmental Hygiene: How Past Challenges Led to Better Solutions for Food Safety
- Biofilm as the root cause in quality and food safety challenges
- Approaches to microbial controls in food processing environments
- Tools and Approaches for environmental hygiene controls
12:00 - 12:30
“Food Authentication and PFAS“
- Verification of food authenticity
- Simple questions and not so simple ones
- About known unknowns and unknown unknowns
- Forecasting Authenticity
- PFAS – Pain for all Suppliers?
- Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances
- Why bother looking into that?
- A Challenge for Labs?
12:30 - 13:00
The Digital Food Safety Revolution: Is Your Company Ready?
- Digital transformation is essential for FSQ in the 21st century
- The three broad phases: pre-digital, early digital, and late digital
- Digital transformation is not a one-size-fits-all solution
- Digital transformation is an ongoing journey
PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS
- COVID-19
- Sustainable Packaging
- Risk Management
- Quality Assurance Systems
- Product Inspection
- Origin Verification
- Food Ingredients & Flavouring
- Air Purification
- Digital Technology
- Food Product Certification
- Compliance & Regulations
- Sustainability 4.0
- Cold Chain Management
- CGMP
- Food Safety Standards
- Food Supply Chain Traceability/Visibility
- Plant Safety & Inspection
- Big Data & Manufacturing Information
- Manufacturing Automation
- Waste Sanitation
- Waste Water Treatment
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
- Elemental Analysis
- Microbiology
- Food Sanitation/Hygiene
- Laboratory Analytical Testing
- Food Innovation
- New Product Development
13:05 - 13:55
LUNCH
14:00 – 14:30
How to Effectively Enhance your QA/GMP/Food Safety Inspections and Audits
In this session, we will be discussing and providing real life examples and scenarios on how to effectively enhance your QA, GMP food safety inspections and audits. There will be a deep dive on documentation, observations, interviews, audit preparation, along with a systematic approach to ensure full success with your food safety, and quality programs.
14:30 – 15:00
The Elements of an Effective Sanitation Program
We will explore the key elements of planning effective sanitation from the foundation through optimization and continuous improvement. This will cover management’s role in literal processes like scheduling and documentation but also the restrictions of things like resource allocation, time, budgets, and more. Starting with a shift in food safety culture, we will look at how management can employ best practices in efficient ways and ensure that tools are used to optimize a solid food safety foundation.
15:00 – 15:30
Listeria Control in RTE Environments: Lessons Learned from a Recall
- Why Should We Be Concerned
- Understanding the Enemy
- Recall Lessons Learned
- Using Data to Predict Risk of a Recall
- Having a Robust Recall & Traceability Policy
- Understanding Your Traceability System/Process – Managing Communications with Customers
- Being Prepared for the Aftermath
- Proactive Measures to Control the Risk
15:35 - 16:25
COFFEE BREAK
16:30 - 17:00
BRC/IFS/FSSC2000 Compliance with Compressed Air
- Compressed air? A load of hot air, or a risk of contamination to your product?
- How to recognise the risks of contamination
- What the rules and regulations on compressed mean for you
- Where you can save energy costs and how
- How to digitally monitor and register compressed air quality
- Where to start in your compressed air installation
- Who you need to include in the process
17:00 - 17:30
Transitioning from Dairy to Plant-Based Production – Handling Allergen Aspects
- Development of plant-based food innovations
- Food safety of plant-based food and allergenicity
- Microbiological risks of using plant-based protein based products
- Food Sustainability
PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS
- COVID-19
- Sustainable Packaging
- Risk Management
- Quality Assurance Systems
- Product Inspection
- Origin Verification
- Food Ingredients & Flavouring
- Air Purification
- Digital Technology
- Food Product Certification
- Compliance & Regulations
- Sustainability 4.0
- Cold Chain Management
- CGMP
- Food Safety Standards
- Food Supply Chain Traceability/Visibility
- Plant Safety & Inspection
- Big Data & Manufacturing Information
- Manufacturing Automation
- Waste Sanitation
- Waste Water Treatment
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
- Elemental Analysis
- Microbiology
- Food Sanitation/Hygiene
- Laboratory Analytical Testing
- Food Innovation
- New Product Development
17:30 - 18:00
Roadmap to Ownership, Accountability, Development, and Sustainability for Safety and Food Safety
Our “one team” is currently collaborating to address many safety/food safety topics systematically and strategically, with a willingness to come up with “new ideas.” The simple system setup makes it easy to focus on items and for team members to more easily see how one project completion allows that information to be taken to the next level. The system is based on a points system (40 pit stops with each stop having 4 action items=160 total points) and our successes and setbacks are discussed weekly. Through this roadmap, we know where we stand on our priorities and the team can readjust as necessary based on opportunities and challenges.
18:05 - 19:00
DRINKS RECEPTION
DAY 2
08:55 – 09:00
CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS
09:00 – 09:30
Leading During Uncertain Times
By emphasizing a culture of continuous improvement and a flexible approach to adapt to changing circumstances, QA leaders can navigate through these challenging times. By fostering a culture of collaboration, communication, and adaptability within their teams, QA leaders can ensure that their programs remain relevant and effective. Additionally, staying informed about new technologies and systems, and being willing to innovate and implement them when appropriate, can give QA leaders a competitive edge in today’s dynamic business environment. Practical insights and actionable steps for QA leaders to not only survive but thrive in the face of uncertainty and change.
09:30 - 10:00
How Smart Packaging Can Enable Recall Modernization
- Overview of smart packaging and how it works to provide real-time tracking and monitoring of food products throughout the supply chain
- Discussion of the business and consumer benefits of smart packaging technologies, including QR codes
- Explanation of how smart packaging can improve consumer safety by quickly identifying affected products and notifying consumers of potential health risks
10:00 - 10:30
Optimizing the Efficacy of EMP Swabbing
The environmental monitoring program at a manufacturing site is a critical element of a food safety program. The presentation will be activities to give further confidence that the swabbing activities are properly being implemented on the production floor
10:35 - 11:25
COFFEE BREAK
11:30 – 12:00
Delivering an impactful and predictive Environmental Management Program
Today, many facilities have environmental management programs but we still see they are not accurately predicting and preventing issues in the facilities. During this presentation we will discuss some key elements to have a predictive program, how to react to prevent issues and how to build a food safety culture around your EMP program.
12:00 – 12:30
Enhancing HACCP through Digital Innovation: Same Fundamentals, Improved Results
This session delves into the world of HACCP’s digital transformation, exploring how modern tools and techniques can elevate food safety protocols while preserving the core principles of this time-tested methodology. Join us to discover the potential of merging industry-standard HACCP fundamentals with cutting-edge digital solutions and take your food safety practices to the next level.
PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS
- COVID-19
- Sustainable Packaging
- Risk Management
- Quality Assurance Systems
- Product Inspection
- Origin Verification
- Food Ingredients & Flavouring
- Air Purification
- Digital Technology
- Food Product Certification
- Compliance & Regulations
- Sustainability 4.0
- Cold Chain Management
- CGMP
- Food Safety Standards
- Food Supply Chain Traceability/Visibility
- Plant Safety & Inspection
- Big Data & Manufacturing Information
- Manufacturing Automation
- Waste Sanitation
- Waste Water Treatment
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
- Elemental Analysis
- Microbiology
- Food Sanitation/Hygiene
- Laboratory Analytical Testing
- Food Innovation
- New Product Development
12:30 – 13:15
Food Safety Culture and Audit Preparedness
- The culture of Food Safety and Quality Assurance in our food plants
- Audit Preparedness – Effective Food safety and quality metrics
- Driving Food Safety culture using collaborations with cross functional teams
- Impact
13:15 - 14:15
LUNCH
14:20 – 14:50
When E. coli Hits the Fan: Airborne Transmission of Foodborne Pathogens
Foodborne pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella have been responsible for the contamination of produce. While the prevalence of these pathogens in soil and water is well known, a gap in knowledge exists about their transmission through air. A recent outbreak associated with tree fruit resulted from aerosolization of foodborne pathogens from animal operations. The presentation will cover recently performed research on the prevalence of enteric bacteria in aerosols and the propensity for cross transfer from dust to produce surfaces.
14:50 – 15:20
Bridging the Gap between R&D and Quality
- QbD as part of new product developments
- Speed to market large vs small companies
- How do innovations affect safety & quality
- Breaking down silo’s