Nearly 2,000 food safety professionals including processors, distributors, growers, retailers, foodservice operators, regulators and academicians will gather next week at the 18th Annual Food Safety Summit Conference & Expo to see the newest products and services available to keep the nation's food supply safe and learn from industry leaders on the most important issues facing the industry. The Summit will be held Tuesday, May 10 through Thursday, May 12 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL with pre-certification courses starting on Monday, May 9th.

"A new location, new educational offerings and an abundance of new faces are all part of the 18th Annual Food Safety Summit which we are thrilled to be hosting for the first time this year in Rosemont, IL," said Scott Wolters, Director, Tradeshows & Conferences,BNP Media. "The Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board has put together a dynamic lineup of sessions and speakers for the 2016 Conference, which is packed with prominent subject matter experts within the food safety community who will offer the most up-to-date information on the most pressing topics facing the industry."

The Summit kicks off on Monday, May 9th with three certification courses; on Tuesday, May 10th there will be an Integration Forum, three workshops and the opening night reception in the Exhibit Hall; on Wednesday, May 11th education sessions will take place from 8 am - 5:30 pm, the exhibit hall will be open from 11 am - 2:30 pm and the Summit Gives Back Reception from 5:30 - 7:00 pm; and on Thursday, May 12th education sessions will take place from 8 am - 5:15 pm, the exhibit hall will be open from 11 am - 2:30 pm and the final Hot Topics session to be held from 4:00 - 5:15 pm. The full schedule is available at www.foodsafetysummit.com. Download the FREE Food Safety Summit Mobile App available on iPhone and Android by searching Food Safety Summit in the app store.

• Integrating the Nation's Food Safety System Forum (May 10th at 8:00 am) - The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) will present a half day forum where dozens of leaders will discuss the many efforts and projects that are in place for integrating the nation's food safety resources.
• Breakfast with Your Peers (May 11th at 8:00 am)- Attendees will be given the opportunity to participate in an interactive conversation with leaders in multiple sectors of the industry, including: retail, foodservice, manufacturing, distribution, and training for regulators.
• Keynote Presentation: The New Food Safety Environment (May 11th at 9:15 am) - A dynamic panel of high level government and industry speakers will convey what they have changed and how their new food safety culture is being implemented corporately and at each facility to prevent foodborne illness. This session is designed to be interactive in nature between the regulatory community and the food industry. Presenters will represent the FDA, McDonalds Corporation, Reser's Fine Foods, Wegmans Food Markets and others.
• 5th Annual Town Hall (May 12th at 9:30 am) - FDA's Mike Taylor; USDA's Dr. David Goldman; CDC's Dr. Robert Tauxe, MPH, and AFDO's Joseph Corby will address pressing issues of today in regards to regulatory agencies and the private sector. The discussion will be proceeded by the presentation of the NSF Food Safety Leadership Awards.
• Certification Courses (May 9th from 9 am - 5 pm) - The Food Safety Summit will kick off on Monday, May 9th with three sold out certification courses offering industry professionals the opportunity to attend programs on Preventive Controls for Human Foods and earn a certificate of completion from the FSPCA; Seafood HACCP with a certification from AFDO and the Seafood HACCP Alliance; and Food Safety Auditor Training with a certificate from NEHA. The Food Safety Summit has been approved for 25.5 NEHA Continuing Education Credits.
• Food Safety Summit Gives Back(May 11th from 5:30 - 7 pm) - The Summit has partnered with Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief organization, to aid in the fight to end hunger. Join event benefactors Integrated Control Corp., ReposiTrak and Sani Professional as well as the hundreds of Summit attendees and exhibitors who have already pledged their support and help provide relief for the 49 million Americans who struggle with hunger. Support the Feeding America network of food banks, click here to make a donation.
• Hot Topics (May 12th from 4:00 - 5:15pm) will be the focus of the closing session with speakers including Dane Bernard and experts from Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, the US Department of Justice, and Food Industry Counsel discussing new regulations, liability and jail time, the impact of acquisitions and other pressing issues.The session will be moderated by Food Safety News.
• Exhibit Hall will offer 200 vendors showcasing new products and services and many will have subject matter experts presenting in the Solutions Stage Theaters both in the Exhibit Hall floor and in the Conference Center. Companies participating include LUBIPLATE, Sani Professional, ReposiTrak, NAStar, Inc., Roka Bioscience, ComplianceMetrix, Anritsu Infivis Inc., ACO Polymer Products, Art's-Way Scientific, Micreos, WDS Inc., Kestrel Management, and Mettler Toledo.

The Food Safety Summit is a solution based conference and expo designed to meet the educational and information needs of the entire food industry including processors, distributors, growers, retailers, foodservice operators, regulators and academia. The Food Safety Summit will be held May 10 through May 12, 2016 at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. For more information, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com or call 847/405-4000.

Source: Food Safety Summit