For the past four days, hundreds of food safety professionals logged in and tuned into The Virtual Food Safety Summit education program, visited with exhibitors in the Expo Hall, and networked through the virtual platform. During the event leading subject matter experts shared their insights on the most pressing topics from the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply, to the importance of focusing on the consumer, and potential criminal exposure for a company in relation to an outbreak. All of the content is available On-Demand through April 2021 at the Virtual Portal at www.foodsafetysummit.com.

“A big thank you to all of our speakers, attendees, and exhibitors who participated in our virtual event. We missed the opportunity of being together this year but the engagement on the virtual platform far exceeded our expectations,” said Scott Wolters, chief events officer, BNP Media. “We had great attendance in our education sessions and the exhibitors were able to connect with customers through the portal. The importance of education and networking for food safety professionals was discussed throughout the conference and we are happy we were able to provide this community with a stellar program.”

The event kicked off on Monday, October 19 with an opening session COVID-19: The New Normal for the Food Industry featuring eight of the best and brightest in food safety who shared what worked and did not over the last eight months and how they are preparing their organizations for the future. The speakers included Lee-Ann Jaykus of North Carolina State University who provided the background and science of the pandemic. Glenn Stolowski of H-E-B and Craig Wilson of Costco gave the retailer perspective, Jorge Hernandez of Wendy’s provided the foodservice angle, Joan Menke-Schaenzer of Van Drunen Farms provided the manufacturing perspective and Steve Mandernach of AFDO gave the regulatory insight. The group then reconvened for a follow-up session where they reviewed the common themes discussed in the four breakout sessions.