Departmental Cooperation Will Be the Theme of the Keynote Presentation at the 2015 Food Safety Summit

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2015) - The 2015 Food Safety Summit is pleased to offer three dynamic plenary sessions which will be thought provoking, interactive and energetic. The event will kick off with a distinguished panel of industry leaders of operations to present the Keynote Session at the 2015 Summit. Donnie Temperley, Vice President of Operations at Hormel Foods, Keith Carango, Senior Vice President and COO of The Cheesecake Factory, and Charlean Gmunder, former Vice President of Manufacturing at Chiquita Brands, will share their passion and commitment as corporate leaders of operations. The keynote presentation will be moderated by Will Daniels, former Senior Vice President Operations of Earthbound Farms, and the panelists will provide insights on how they work with their food safety professionals to ensure that the safest, highest quality products are reaching their customers and consumers. The Summit will be taking place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD from April 28 - 30, 2015 with the keynote taking place on Wednesday, April 29 at 9:30 am.

"Our Educational Advisory Board was instrumental in developing the concept for this keynote presentation to inform our audience of food safety and quality control professionals on how best to gain departmental cooperation within their organizations," said Scott Wolters, Event Director for the Food Safety Summit. "The Summit will also offer two plenary interactive sessions where attendees will have a chance to have open and honest dialogue with the leaders of food safety at the FDA, USDA, CDC and AFDO as well as participate in a session dedicated to the hottest topics facing the industry today."

On Thursday, April 30^th at 9:30 am the Summit will host the 4^th annual Town Hall meeting where attendees will be able to participate in a candid and interactive discussion on the latest food safety issues with key government officials. Panelists will include Michael R. Taylor, JD, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, FDA; Alfred Almanza, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA; Joseph Corby, Executive Director, AFDO; and Christopher Braden, MD (CAPT, USPHS), Director, Div of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, CDC. The Town Hall will be moderated by Gary Ades, PhD, President, G&L Consulting Group and Chair of the Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board.

The Summit will close with one general session on Thursday, April 30^th at 3:30 pm with four dynamic and respected leaders in the industry who will address some of the most pressing issues and hot topics facing food safety professionals. Dave Theno, PhD, former head of food safety for Jack in the Box, will talk about the future of food safety Leadership; Food Safety Attorney Bill Marler will address the aftermath of the PCA verdict and where ingredients come from; Gillian Kelleher, VP of Food Safety & QA at Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., will address local sourcing and food safety; and Joan Menke-Schaenzer, Chief Global Quality Officer, ConAgra Foods, Inc., will join the panel to discuss food safety systems as well as other issues. The session will be moderated by Craig Wilson, VP, GMM Quality Assurance & Food Safety, Costco Wholesale.

The Food Safety Summit is a solution based expo and conference designed to meet the educational and information needs of the entire food industry including processors, distributors, growers, retailers, foodservice operators, regulators and academia. Details and registration information is available at www.foodsafetysummit.com.