There will be 45 seminars covering a variety of topics ranging from food safety to technological developments in the industry and an Executive Forum that will all be a part of PROCESS EXPO University, taking place from September 19-22, 2017, at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, IL. There will be five hour-long sessions in each theater per day, starting at 9:30 am on Tuesday and running through Thursday of the event.

"Education is one of the most important reasons for food processing professionals to attend PROCESS EXPO, and this year we have expanded our educational offering to cover important topics such as food safety, alternative methods of production and automation, as well as food processing and packaging specific to each of the major industry segments that attend our event," said Tom Kittle, FPSA Chairman and President of Handtmann Inc. and Handtmann Canada Ltd. "We thank our speakers for offering their expertise to provide relevant industry content which will be invaluable to our attendees to bring new knowledge and information back to their companies."

Topics that will be addressed in the two general education theaters will include:

• Validation of Thermal Processes Used in the Manufacture of Low Moisture Foods
• Current Structure, Challenges and Opportunities in German Butcheries
• Futuristic Concepts for the Design of Pet Food Facilities
• Increased Productivity with Environmentally Responsible Non-Destructive Cleaning
• Novel Processing Technologies Merge with Nutrition and Chemistry
• Technology Developments that Impact your Environmental Monitoring Program
• The Path to IIoT: Effective Change Management Tips
• Turning Waste Streams into Value Streams in Dairy Processing Facilities

One of the education theaters will be dedicated solely to the topic of food safety, hosted by The Food Safety Summit.  Sessions will include:

• Constructing an Equipment Hygienic Design Program
• Engineering Adaptive Food Safety Systems  
• FSMA Update for Processors
• Implementing Mitigation Strategies in Food Processing to Achieve Food Defense in Human Food Manufacturing
• Regulatory Transformation in the Food & Beverage Industry
• The Shifting Landscape of Civil, Regulatory and Criminal Exposure
• The State of Food Safety in Meat and Poultry

New for this year will be a series of Processor Spotlight Seminars which will feature C-Suite executives who will share their experiences.  Speakers include Richard Thompson, former CEO, Freshpet; Ted Wampler, President, Wampler Sausage; Judith Winfrey, President, Peach Dish; Aaron Merrell, CEO, Plato Pet Treats; Mike Bartikoski, Senior VP Operations, Land O'Frost; Justin Shimek, CEO, Mattson Food Development; Tulin Tuzel, CTO, Sabra Dipping Company and Fabio Nunes, Latin American Poultry Processing Consultant.  

For complete details about the seminars being offered, click here.

In addition, PROCESS EXPO will be offering a HACCP and FSMA Preventive Controls/Qualified Individual Certification course. The two-day course will cover the current Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance requirement, with a focus on the Preventive Controls Rule and how this aligns with existing industry HACCP requirements. FPSA has subsidized a portion of this course to assist processing companies in their efforts to train employees. For additional information and to register for this course, click here.

Source: FPSA