From farm to plate, the one location to find out the best way to keep the food chain safe and secure will be in Washington, D.C., this spring. The Food Safety & Security Summit is scheduled for March 6-8 at the Washington D.C. Convention Center, and attendees can gather insight and information from 30 in-depth seminars, four workshops, two high-profile general sessions and nearly 200 exhibitors on hand.

The show will cover every aspect of the food industry, making it an important event for food producers, foodservice providers, government officials and regulators and retailers. Given the importance placed on compliance with federal food-safety regulations, not to mention the complexities of becoming compliant, meat and poultry processors will gain the needed expertise in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs, plant security, new testing practices and the latest tools to make their facilities safe and secure.

This year’s Summit — the ninth annual event — is set to become the largest show yet. In November, the Target Group, producer of Food Safety World Conference & Expo, announced it will merge its event into the Summit.

“We strongly believe that one unified event serves the best interest of attendees and suppliers alike and puts the focus squarely on the most important matter at hand — the safety and security of the global food supply,” said Harry Stagnito, president of Stagnito Communications, producer of the Summit.

With food industry professionals coming together from around the country, this is an ideal opportunity to network with others in the industry, as well as government and academic experts. To that end, there will be several events during the Summit to help attendees connect with their peers. The opening day reception on March 6 is open to all Summit attendees, as is the Food Quality Award™ presentation and reception on March 7. The award is presented by Food Quality magazine and sponsored by DuPont Corp, and it recognizes a North American QA/QC department or program that has made outstanding contributions to food safety and quality. This is the first time the award has been presented at the Food Safety Summit.

Along with the networking opportunities, there will be chances to see the latest technology to help keep the food supply safe on the exhibit floor, featuring the industry’s leading problem-solving vendors. The Summit’s educational program will also provide insights into the latest and most effective approaches for using better food safety practices. It will consist of keynote sessions and seminars, 90-minute super sessions and half-day workshops. The speakers presenting at the Summit have hundreds of years of combined experience in the food, beverage, processing, foodservice, regulatory and retail fields.

Among the topics to be discussed at the seminars and sessions are plant security, food sanitation, supply-chain management, logistics management, laboratory technology and testing, and quality assurance. The speakers come from noteworthy companies such as Oscar Mayer/Kraft, Tyson Foods, McDonalds Corp., Cargill Inc., Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants Inc. and Orkin Inc. Some of the sessions will include timely topics such as preparing a company for a crisis and improving the safety of produce.