Food safety conference: still time to book early bird ticket
The early bird delegate price of £328 +VAT will be available until Friday 28th April. From the following day the delegate price will rise to £410.00 +VAT.
This year’s conference – chaired by Professor Steven Walker, director general Campden BRI – is titled Food Safety 2020: preparing your business for change.
The one-day conference will be divided into four sessions, each dealing with a different aspect of food and drink safety. Session one will focus on Food safety in a Brexit world. Session two examines The big food safety issues facing us.
Managing your supply chains
The third session is dedicated to Managing your supply chains while the final session is entitled Avoiding contamination and problems in your factory. Read the full conference programme in the box below.
The keynote address at this year’s conference – organised by the Food Manufacture Group – will be delivered by John Barnes, formerly a senior executive with the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Barnes, who is currently a food safety consultant with Enmoore, will focus on regulated self-assurance; formerly known as earned recognition.
Regulated self-assurance
His presentation will focus on the scope for the FSA and local authority environmental health departments to take a more risk-based, self-regulatory approach to food hygiene inspections for those manufacturers that can demonstrate compliance with the law and third-party hygiene audits.
Meanwhile, you can contribute to the conference by taking part in our exclusive food safety survey. The survey aims to chart food and drink manufacturers’ key safety concerns. Completing the survey will take just a few minutes and all respondents are guaranteed complete anonymity. The survey results will be presented at the conference.
All named entries to the survey will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win an iPad mini.
Food Safety 2020: preparing your business for change
Chairman: Professor Steven Walker, director general Campden BRI
SESSION 1: Food safety in a Brexit world
09:30 How will Brexit impact food safety legislation?
Much debate is taking place about what will happen to huge swathes of EU food law once Brexit takes place. This presentation will discuss what changes are likely and how these will impact UK food and drink manufacturers.
Neil Griffiths, retail services director, SVA
09:50 Towards 2020: where next for earned recognition
Regulated self-assurance (formerly known as earned recognition) – in which the Food Standards Agency (FSA’s) and local authority environmental health departments take a more risk-based, self-regulatory approach to food hygiene inspections as their resources and budgets are squeezed – is set to become more widely used for those manufacturers that can demonstrate compliance with the law and third-party hygiene audits. We report on the FSA’s trials with big players such as Tesco and restaurant chain Mitchells & Butlers to flag up the implications for others in the food and drink supply chain.
John Barnes, food safety consultant, Enmoore
10:10 What food safety issues keep factory managers awake at night?
We report on the results of a Food Manufacture online survey of its readership about what they consider to be the big food safety issues facing UK food and drink manufacturers as we head towards Brexit, and as Food Standards Agency changes the way it polices the sector through its Regulating our Future programme. Mike Stones, group editor, Food Manufacture
10:30 COFFEE
SESSION 2: The big food safety issues facing us
10:50 How much of a risk does antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the food supply chain present and what is the industry doing to tackle it?
Resistance to antibiotics presents one of the biggest existential risks to society today. It is attributed to over-prescription in humans and the overuse of antibiotics in the meat supply chain. This presentation will identify the risks and outline what the UK industry is doing to reduce its dependence on antibiotics.
Reg Smith, agriculture director Faccenda, and chairman of British Poultry Council’s Antibiotic Stewardship Scheme
11:10 Changing production methods, new science and social media: what impact will they have on food safety?
This presentation will describe what risk novel foods and production technologies, such as the internet of Things (IoT)/ Industry 4.0, nanotechnology, will have on food safety. It will also look at the use of big data and social media in monitoring food poisoning outbreaks.
11:30 What role for smart packaging in reducing the incidence of food poisoning in the home?
Intelligent or smart packs of food are already available, with time-temperature-indicators showing when food is becoming dangerous to eat or has suffered temperature abuse along the supply chain. But it isn’t being extensively used. Is cost the main barrier or are there others, such as fear that some consumers will abuse this technology for their own ends?
Andrew Manly, communications director, Active and Intelligent Packaging Association
11:50 PANEL SESSION FROM THE MORNING
12:30 LUNCH
SESSION 3: Managing your supply chains
13:30 Sourcing ingredients safely
With ingredients being increasingly sourced from around the globe, how do you ensure the integrity of what you buy? This presentation will explain the background, scope and purpose of the best practice guide to herbs and spices for the UK food industry, to help inform buyers on what they are purchasing and thereby avoid food fraud and adulteration issues.
Simon Cripps, executive chairman, Seasoning and Spice Association
13:50 New predictive software toolbox to enhance food quality and safety
This presentation will provide an update on the Sequencing Alliance for Food Environments (SAFE) project, from the University of Dublin. The project is developing new predictive software that will enhance approaches to food quality and safety, based on next-generation DNA sequencing.
Sinéad Proos, senior innovation commercialisation manager, Food for Health Ireland
14:10 What risk is there in changing the ‘10-day rule’ for shelf-life?
With an increasing focus on maximising profits while reducing food waste, more food producers and retailers are looking to extend the shelf-life of their products. We examine the latest developments and practices to extend shelf-life, and fears by some groups that FSA proposed changes to the ’10-day rule’, will jeopardise food safety and the viability of huge sectors of the food industry.
Kaarin Goodburn, secretary general, Chilled Food Association
14:30 COFFEE
SESSION 4: Avoiding contamination and problems in your factory
14:50 Reducing allergen recalls
Accidental presence of allergens in food or drink or mislabelling of allergens on packs is probably the biggest source of recalls. This presentation offers manufacturers advice on how to avoid falling foul of costly allergen recalls.
Dr Rachel Ward, expert allergy management consultant, Rwardconsultancy
15:10 Are your nutrition labels legal?
All pre-packed food products sold within the EU must display nutrition information in accordance with the new rules as from December 2016. Many experts fear that many small food and drink businesses remain in contravention of the rules.
Dr Andy Bowles, ABC Food Law
15:30 Creating a strong food safety culture in your workplace
Pressure to meet tight production schedules sometimes lead food factory workers to cut corners and put food hygiene within manufacturing sites in jeopardy – even when they know it is wrong. This presentation will describe how to inculcate a food safety culture, so that good food hygiene practices are second nature and embraced from the board to shopfloor.
Sterling Crew, head of technical, Kolak Snack Foods
15:50 Closing remarks
16:00 Conference closes
Book your early bird ticket, available until April 28th 2017, here.
