Food safety is a critical aspect of any company involved in the food industry. The health of consumers and the financial health of the business itself depend on it. For any company looking for the latest information on food sanitation, plant security, quality assurance or regulatory compliance, the Food Safety & Security Summit is the place to be.

The Food Safety & Security Summit is North America’s largest trade show and conference dedicated to ensuring the safety of the global food supply. The event will take place March 6-8 at the Washington D.C. Convention Center.

The Summit offers benefits for anyone involved in the food industry. Processors can gain expertise on plant security, new testing procedures and regulatory compliance. Foodservice operators need to know the latest in sanitation operating procedures and employee training. Government officials and regulators can stay current with safety standards and regulations, and retailers can improve their knowledge of selling safe and untainted food.

Summit attendees looking to hear from some of the leaders in the food industry will want to attend the two keynote addresses. The March 6 address features Susan Forsell, vice president of quality systems, supply chain management at McDonald’s USA. In “Serving a Quality Meal Every Time,” she will explore the importance of managing supplier relationships, offer tips for focusing on crew training and giving best practices in equipment sanitation techniques and technology.

Dr. Robert Brackett, PhD., director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will be featured on March 7. His talk, “Food Safety in an Era of Globalization,” will address how globalization has increased the FDA’s role in foreign trade and international standards, and how it has brought about many regulatory changes and challenges. It will also highlight the steps being taken by the FDA to ensure food being imported into the United States meets all U.S. standards.

The rest of the Summit’s education program features more than 30 sessions, all geared toward giving attendees an inside track on the latest, most effective approaches for using better food-safety practices. Speakers represent companies such as Tyson Foods, Target Corp. and Cargill Inc. and offer hundreds of years of combined experience in the food, beverage, processing, foodservice, regulatory and retail fields. The sessions are organized in tracks, and attendees can concentrate on a specific track or cherry-pick from all the sessions. The tracks include In the Lab, Quality Assurance, Operations in the Plant, Foodservice & Retail, and Food Security & Defense.

Along with the educational program, more than 200 suppliers to the food industry will be showcasing their latest products and innovations on the show floor. To reflect the food industry’s changing needs, the Summit offers the full spectrum of resources on its show floor — from plant security and supply-chain software to microbiological testing and food-handling devices.