Sponsored by:

Complimentary Virtual Event

April 15, 2021 | 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT

Food Safety Hazards Series:

Listeria Detection, Mitigation, Control & Regulation

Register Now!

The CDC estimates that nearly 48 million people fall ill and 3000 people die annually as a result of foodborne illness. Listeria is a concern due to the high percentage of fatalities that occur as a result of contracting Listeriosis. Many of these cases are preventable.

During this virtual event, experts will discuss challenges and tangible best practices in Listeria detection, mitigation and control.

Learning Objectives:

  • Addressing food manufacturing and preventing the introduction of the pathogen
  • Risk-based and practical regulatory approaches that address risks associated with the presence of Listeria in food production and achieve key public health goals relative to the pathogen
  • How to implement a strong Listeria control program
  • Testing and challenges from a lab perspective: What does one do with an ambiguous result?

Who Should Attend:

  • Quality assurance/quality control
  • Sanitation
  • Risk manager
  • Food safety compliance
  • Food laboratory
  • Regulatory

AGENDA

12:00 pm - 12:05 pm -  Welcome and Introductions
Maria Fontanazza, Editor-in-Chief, Food Safety Tech 

12:05 pm - 12:35 pm - Listeria Control and New Approaches to Addressing Risks
Sanjay Gummalla, Ph.D., Sr. VP, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, AFFI
As part of the American Frozen Food Institute’s (AFFI) strategy to tackle risks associated with the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in the food manufacturing, a panel of global experts was assembled to examine available Listeria science and regulatory policies. The panel’s work led to an alternate regulatory framework that has the potential to allow food processors to operate in a proactive and transparent manner and thus address the true public health risks associated with the presence of this pathogen in foods. The first presentation of the virtual event will cover an overview of Listeria control and prevention, share key recommendations of the panel and discuss possible implications to the food industry.

12:35 pm - 12:50 pm - The Value of Electronic Rodent Monitoring in Mitigating Contamination Risks TechTalk sponsored by Bayer
Scott Broaddus, Digital Pest Management Lead, Bayer
Leaders of food safety programs continue to embrace an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to safeguard their business from detrimental risks associated with pathogen-carrying rodents. Cutting-edge new technologies such as electronic rodent monitoring are enabling pest control operators to better prevent and mitigate these risks while also driving greater efficiency. Hear from the experts at Bayer on the contamination threat rodents pose to your business and how electronic rodent monitoring can improve the results of your food safety program.  

12:50 pm - 1:20 pm - Managing Food Safety and Sanitation in the Digital Age
April Bishop, Sr. Director, Food Safety, TreeHouse Foods
A brief manufacturing perspective on how to use your sanitation data to drive improved microbiological health in your facility and increase confidence in your food safety program. Taking the more labor intensive manual plotting and data interpretation to a digital tool that assists in visualizing where the issues are and helping you spend more time driving to root cause and corrective action versus pivots tables and paper maps.

1:20 pm -1:35 pm - TechTalk sponsored by Hardy Diagnostics
Jessa Youngblood, Food & Beverage Marketing Coordinator, Hardy Diagnostics

1:35 pm - 2:05 pm - Listeria Testing: Choosing the Right Method and Target
Douglas Marshall, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Eurofins
Testing for Listeria species or Listeria monocytogenes may seem easy; however, you can really mess up your Listeria control program if your choices are not carefully considered. This talk will address the impacts of method choice, choosing the right target for the right reasons, and what to do when the laboratory provides ambiguous results.

2:05 pm - 2:25 pm - Expert Panel & Q&A Session

2:25 pm Session Concludes

Speakers

 
Sanjay Gummalla, Ph.D.
Sr. Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs
American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI)
 

Dr. Sanjay Gummalla is currently vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, at the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). His broad industry experience in food science, food safety, and nutrition are key to guiding science and policy advocacy, and effective scientific tools and resources for the food and beverage industry. He is in the forefront of coordinating Listeria monocytogenes prevention and control programs and policy efforts on behalf of the frozen food industry.

Prior to joining AFFI, Sanjay was the vice president of product development at Zentis NA, a global fruit preparation manufacturer. His technical expertise extends to flavor development, food microbiology, and product development resulting from managing global food application projects at Givaudan Flavors and leading the global dairy flavor research and development portfolio at Cargill.

Sanjay currently serves on key committees representing the industry, he is an advisor on the U.S. Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Processed Foods, a committee member on IAFP’s Journal of Food Protection, President of the Capital Area Food Protection Association, and chair of the International Food Science Certification Commission which administers IFT’s Certified Food Scientists program.

April Bishop

April Bishop
Sr. Director of Food Safety
TreeHouse Foods

April Bishop is a senior director of food safety with TreeHouse Foods where she leads a team of food safety professionals to support 40+ plants, including food safety training, food safety plans, food defense plans, sanitation, pest control, microbiology, allergen control, and all other things food safety related. Bishop led the TreeHouse team to win the 2017 Food Quality & Safety magazine’s Food Quality & Safety Award recognizing that TreeHouse Foods employs high product standards and expectations, demonstrates excellence across all categories in its submission, and has a commitment to investing in technology, improving employee training, HACCP implementation and utilizing audits.

Bishop has more than 20 years of experience in the food industry and is a 12-year member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), founding the Nebraska chapter with several co-workers in 2009. She is an active member of 6 IAFP Professional Development Groups, the Alliance for Listeriosis Prevention, the National Pasta Association, American Peanut Council, and the Food Defense Consortium.

 

Douglas Marshall

Douglas Marshall, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Eurofins

Dr. Douglas L. Marshall is Chief Scientific Officer with Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories.  Formerly he was Associate Dean and Professor of Public Health, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Northern Colorado and a Contributing Editor of the scientific journal Food Microbiology.  His career focus is to improve the microbiological quality and safety of foods, with numerous publications and consultations in the area.  He has received the Mississippi Chemical Corporation Award of Excellence for Outstanding Work and the International Association for Food Protection Educator and Harold Barnum Industry Awards.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Scott Braddus

Scott Broaddus
Digital Pest Management Lead
Bayer

Scott Broaddus is the sales and business lead for Bayer Digital Pest Management. In his twelve years with Bayer, he’s held a variety of positions across business development and sales that have led to his current leadership position. Broaddus frequently speaks on the value of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and how these practices can benefit food safety programs.  Scott is very active in the professional pest management industry and is an active member of Leadership Development Group (LDG) as well as the National Pest Management Commercial Committee. In 2015, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) named him one of the "Young and Emerging Leaders in Pest Management." He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from North Carolina State University, with an emphasis in Innovation Management, which sparked his passion for innovation and business model transformation that has continued with his career at Bayer.

Jessa Youngblood

Jessa Youngblood
Food & Beverage Marketing Coordinator
Hardy Diagnostics

 

Maria Fontanazza
Editor-in-Chief
Food Safety Tech

Maria has more than a decade of experience in journalism, marketing, and communications within the publishing, conferences and medical device industry. She has authored more than 250 articles that have appeared in domestic and international industry publications and has moderated educational sessions and panel discussions at industry events. Maria joins Innovative Publishing from Secant Medical, Inc., where she was the Marketing Communications Manager and Market Research Manager. Maria has a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications with a concentration in New Media and Visual Design, and a Minor in Fine Arts, from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, VT.

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