December 9 -11, 2024

The 16th Annual NLS Food Quality Symposium

The 16th Annual Food Quality Symposium, features the ideal peer-to-peer networking environment for Top Level Executives in Safety, Quality Assurance (Q & A) and many other related fields within the food industry. Be a part of the Industry's Must Attend Event featuring thought leaders from the world’s leading food manufacturers, discussing the key issues affecting the current and future growth of your business.

Delegate Investment Areas:

    • 3rd Party Audits
    • Crisis Management and Enterprise Risk Management
    • Food Quality Assurance Technology and Software solutions
    • Food Safety Industry Consultancies
    • Food Safety Solutions
    • GFSI Compliance Consulting
    • GFSI Compliance Software
    • HACCP Training
    • Legal Consultancies
    • Manufacturing and Processing Technology
    • Microbial Testing
    • Operational Excellence
    • Packaging and Labeling Suppliers
    • Pest Control
    • Planning and Production
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sanitation and Decontamination
    • Traceability Systems

 

the who's who

Delegates Information

Vice Presidents, Heads and Directors of:

    • Quality Assurance
    • Food Safety
    • Operations
    • Manufacturing
    • Supply Chain
    • Scientific & Regulatory Affairs
    • Technical Services

 

NLS Delegate Attendees Include:

Afb International - Manager, Global Quality Compliance & Certification

Afb International - Sr Manager, Quality Assurance and Lab Services

Ajinomoto - Senior Director of Quality & Regulatory Affairs

Amazon - Consumables Manager, Regulatory Intelligence, Safety, and Compliance

Amazon - Sr. Manager NA Operations Food Safety

Ameriqual - Director of Regulatory Affairs

Ameriqual - VP of Tech Services

Aurora Organic Dairy - Corporate Quality Manager

B And D Foods - QA manager

B And D Foods - QA supervisor

Bakkavor Usa - Sr Technical Manager

Bell Flavors And Fragrances - VP Quality, Compliance and Safety

Built Brands - Director of Quality

California Custom Processing, Llc - Senior Operations Manager

California Custom Processing, Llc - CCO

California Custom Processing, Llc - QC Supervisor

Candyco - Quality Director

Casey's - Director - FSQA

Circle K - Director, Food Safety for North America

Circle K - Quality Assurance Manager

Columbus Craft Meats - Executive Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Condado Tacos - Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager

Crockett Honey - Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory

Cut Fruit Express - FSQA Manager

Denmark Foods - Plant manager and SQF Practitioner

Eilliens Candies - Quality Manager

Grain Millers - Director of Quality & Regulatory

Grain Millers, Inc. - Business Operations

Grain Millers, Inc. - General Manager

Grain Millers, Inc. - General Managers

Grain Processing Corporation - Vice President of Quality

Home Chef - Manager - Product and Regulatory

Home Chef - V.P. FSQA

Home Market Foods - QA Technologist

Hunt Brothers Pizza - Quality Specialist

Instacart - Director of Regulatory Compliance

Instacart - Regulatory Strategy and Compliance Program Manager

Intelligent Blends - Director of Food Safety & Quality

Joseph Gallo Farms - Sr. QA Manager

Kent Corporation - Director of Regulatory Affairs

Kwik Trip Inc. - Food Protection Analyst

Kwik Trip, Inc. - Retail Food Protection Manager

Lindt & Sprungli Us - Director of QA

Maple Lodge Farms - Senior Director - Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Animal Welfare & Customer Relations

Northwest Naturals Llc - Food Safety Manager

Open Book Extracts - Project Manager, Quality Assurance

Open Book Extracts - Quality Control Manager

Outward Hound - Director of Product Integrity

Outward Hound - Product and Integrity Manager Pet Treats

P.f. Chang's - Manager, Quality Assurance & Food Safety

P.f. Chang's - Sr. Director of FSQA

Pepper Source - VP of FSQA

Pilgrim’s - QA Director

Qdoba Mexican Eats - Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Rise Baking Company - Director of Quality Assurance

S&r Egg Farms - Vice President of Quality and Safety

Say When Beverages - QA Technician

Shamrock Foods - Director of Food Safety and Quality

Simmons Foods - Vice President, Food Safety & Quality

Snak King - Director of Operations

Spiceology - Food Safety and Compliance Manager

Sprouts - Director of Food Safety

Sprouts Farmers Market - Food Safety Manager

Subway - Senior Global Food Service Manager

Sun Orchard - Vice President, Innovation & Quality

Sunbutter, Llc - Quality Manager

The Mennel Milling Company - Vice President of Innovation

Wayne-sanderson Farms - Sr. Director - QA and Food Safety

Whole Foods Market - Retail Food Safety Sr. Leader

Wingstop Inc. - Food Safety Auditor

Zaloom Corp. - IMPORT/EXPORT MANAGER

Zaloom Corporation - Compliance

on the menu

Agenda

Pre Event Session All Regulators Monday December 11th 3PM - 6PM

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Registration

3:00 - 3:30 USDA
“policy updates.”

  • Regulators Latest Updates on "Salmonella and cell-cultured product”

3:30 - 4:00

CDC Food Safety Efforts: Critical Research and Collaborative Efforts

4:00 - 4:30

FSMA Implementation Updates: FDA Field Perspective

  • Provide update on initiatives
  • Provide general update of field operations
  • COVID -19 Updates

4:30 - 5:00

How the Food Traceability Rule impacts retailers.

5:00 - 5:30

Round Table All 3

 

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

7:00 am Registration & Breakfast

Welcoming Remarks

Protecting the C-Store Guests and Food Brand

  • Learn how a company's food safety culture can support, align & contribute to a company's vision and mission
  • Understand behaviors and create interventions aimed towards all key stakeholders of safe food within your organization. Realize...FOOD is NOT food unless it is safe
  • Discover collaborative solutions to today's safe food handling challenges that can help save time and costs

The Proactive Model in Food Safety and Quality - Focused in Food Manufacturing

  • Form follows structure. Define and have a 1 year, 3 year and 5 year plan.
  • Identify roles and responsibilities to accompany those plans.
  • Simplify and create sustainability. Status quo is not an option.
  • Define and create processes
  • Systems, data and education
  • It’s a team effort!

Networking & Refreshment Break

One - To - One Meetings

How to Use AI and Intelligent Automation to Drive Supplier and Product Compliance
Abstract

  • Leverage AI to eliminate cumbersome and error-prone processes
  • Improve inventory control and recover wasted dollars and precious time
  • Create predictive analytics for proactive risk prevention
  • Drive continuous improvement through AI-driven feedback loops
  • Build an actionable analytics strategy to drive key business decisions

Networking Lunch Sponsored by SafetyChain

The Impacts of Climate Change on Food Safety

  • Overview of the predicted hazards
  • Impact analysis on the global food supply chain
  • Review of coping strategies to mitigate risks

Risk Communication from the consumer's perspective

  • Consumers are concerned about the safety of their food and seek usable knowledge before, during, and after a foodborne disease outbreak
  • The consumer age range requires different strategies to reach as many people as possible
  • Messaging and methods have to be specifically targeted to the audience
  • There are untapped opportunities to reach this audience

Networking & Refreshment Break

One - To - One Meetings

Supplier Food Safety Assurance with a Global Ingredient Supply Chain

  • Global Food Chain Traceability – Current and Future State
  • Regulatory Readiness and Management – Integration into Company Processes
  • Supplier Collaboration Challenges – Adaptation and Resolutions

"From Myths to Mastery - Navigating the Food Safety World of Online Food Delivery".

  • Provide a food safety perspective on the measures and protocols in place to ensure safe food handling and delivery.
  • Explore the communication strategies employed to address concerns and reinforce trust in online food delivery.
  • Illuminate the significance of consumer education in ensuring food safety.
  • Highlight effective ways to educate consumers, shoppers, and others involved in the e-commerce food journey.

Prosecutor's Case - Foodborne Illness Outbreak Criminal Trial – What would 12 Jurors Think?

  • Listen to federal prosecutors as they argue why the CEO and/or Food Safety Professionals in a restaurant chain that caused an outbreak should be convicted.
  • Learn about the scope of potential criminal exposure you may face if your products are associated with an outbreak.
  • Learn about the different types of evidence and arguments federal prosecutors can use to convict food company executives
  • Identify strategies that you can implement in your organization today to protect yourself and your company from criminal exposure
  • eliberate the evidence as jurors in the trial and vote whether to convict or acquit the defendant.

Closing Remarks

Networking Dinner

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Networking Breakfast

Opening Remarks

Zero Waste Programs and Food Safety

Maximizing ROI Through Food Safety & Sanitation Execution

  • Implementing a food safety plan that encompasses planning, execution, and tracking
  • Removing “siloed” information from one department or one set of binders
  • Using digitization as a tool
  • Decreasing the burden of documentation and increasing transparency
  • Having transparency for decision making

Networking & Refreshment Break

One - To - One Meetings

A Conversation About EMP Best Practices and What it Takes to Bring Your EMP to the Next Level

  • Learn the basics of EMPs - Why we do it, what we target, and what we aim to learn.
  • Open Q & A forum for the speaker to answer your specific EMP questions
  • Learn about tools and technologies that can greatly enhance your EMP management

The Value Of Third-Party Foreign Material Inspection Services

  • How 3rd party inspection differs from inline Xray and how the services complement each other
  • Challenges and successes with foreign material inspection
  • Design of routine versus episodic inspection approaches
  • Impact of inspection service on Supply chain, including ROI, Cost Benefit and Sustainability Impacts

Networking Lunch

GFSI Compliance Maturity through Digital Solutions

  • The challenges of GFSI program management
  • How to leverage technology to manage FGSI certification requirements
  • Audit Readiness
  • Introduce a program maturity model to benchmark your operations

Hiring, developing, retaining talent within your organization.

  • How do you know if you are asking the right questions in the interview to hire the best person?
  • Have you put together a development career path for those high potential people?
  • Personal insights to have a successful career.

Modern Food Safety Challenge of Old World Salami

  • Regulatory differences between EU and USA
  • Recent recalls / outbreaks in salami products
  • Our search for food safety validation

FSIS’s Salmonella Framework

  • Where we are, Where we’re going, and How the Industry is Responding.
  • Current state and expected future of FSIS’s Salmonella Framework,including required testing.
  • Current industry testing and where we are moving to meet the final expected requirements.

Defense Case -  Foodborne Illness Outbreak Criminal Trial – What would 12 Jurors Think?

  • Listen to federal prosecutors as they argue why the CEO and/or Food Safety Professionals in a restaurant chain that caused an outbreak should be convicted.
  • Learn about the scope of potential criminal exposure you may face if your products are associated with an outbreak.
  • Learn about the different types of evidence and arguments federal prosecutors can use to convict food company executives.
  • Identify strategies that you can implement in your organization today to protect yourself and your company from criminal exposure.
  • Listen to plaintiff and defense closing arguments
  • Deliberate the evidence as jurors in the trial and vote whether to convict or acquit the defendant.

 

Closing Remarks

made possible by

Our Sponsors

Service Providers

Networking Sponsors

Where its At

Event Venue

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa

Find your perfect Texas escape at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa. Nestled on 405 acres along the Lower Colorado River, our family-friendly resort is just 20 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Splash the day away and ride the Lazy River at Lost Pines Water Park. Hit the greens at our award-winning 18-hole golf course. Test your skills at archery or explore Renegade Trailhead on horseback. Whether you're seeking rest and rejuvenation at our full-service spa or quality time with the family while roasting s'more at the fire pits ––there's something for everyone at our hill country resort.


Click here to book your Accommodations.

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