ORLANDO — Food safety and electronic traceability are currently two of the produce industry's top priorities, and attendees at this year's Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition will have plenty of opportunities to hear the latest news about both of these critical topics.
A total of four general session workshops will be held on the two topics on Friday and Saturday and for the first time this year, PMA will feature a new Food Safety Solutions Center on the expo floor. There, attendees can see live demonstrations and videos of new safety technology and packaging, talk with suppliers or attend a series of daily themed Q&A sessions with PMA's own food safety experts.
In an interview with SN, Bryan Silbermann, PMA's president and chief executive officer pointed to one session that will showcase several of the industry's recent food safety developments. “From Research to Real-World: The Best of Food Safety Innovations” will be held on Saturday October 16 from 9:35 to 10:50.
“It will highlight the results from the Center for Produce Safety's symposium that was held at the end of June at [the University of California] Davis,” Silbermann said. “Dr. Bob Whitacre [PMA's chief science and technology officer] is going to focus on recapping some of the latest research news, and we'll have a number of other researchers talking about progress in their specific areas. Anybody with an interest in food safety really needs to attend that.”
For a complete listing of workshops planned for Fresh Summit, check out our show schedule at the end of this special supplement.